Yahoo News 19 Apr 10;
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia Sunday said it would extend a satellite ship-tracking system to cover all of the massive Great Barrier Reef after a Chinese ship ran aground threatening an environmental catastrophe.
Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the system, currently in place for most of the reef, would be extended south following advice from safety officials.
The move, which would force all ships to report their positions for tracking, must be ratified by the International Maritime Organisation because much of the area is outside Australia's territorial waters.
"In the mean time, (transport safety agencies) will begin rolling out the infrastructure necessary to support the reporting system, such as sensors, communications equipment and modified navigational software," Albanese said.
"By beginning this work now, our authorities will be fully ready for the start of mandatory reporting in July 2011."
Two Chinese crew from the Shen Neng 1 appeared in court last week over the giant ship's nine-day grounding in the reef's south, which prompted fears of a major oil spill and gouged a huge scar in the world heritage-listed coral.
Officials have pledged to probe allegations that ships, many ferrying Australia's booming exports to Asia, are taking short-cuts through the reef, which sprawls along 2,300 kilometres (1,400 miles) of the country's northeastern coast.
