Great Barrier Reef could take 20 years to recover from grounding

Kristen Gelineau The Independent 14 Apr 10;

A coal carrier, which ran aground and leaked oil on the Great Barrier Reef, cut a two-mile-long scar into the shoal and may have smeared paint which will prevent marine life from growing back, it was revealed yesterday.

Even if severe toxic contamination is not found at the site, initial assessments by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority indicate it could take 20 years for the world's largest coral reef to recover.

The marine park authority's chief scientist, David Wachenfeld, said: "There is more damage to this reef than I have ever seen in any previous Great Barrier Reef groundings." In some areas, "all marine life has been completely flattened and the structure of the shoal has been pulverised by the weight of the vessel," Mr Wachenfeld added.

The Chinese coal ship, the Shen Neng 1, veered into protected waters and slammed into a shoal on 3 April. Coral shredded part of its hull, causing a leak of about three tonnes of fuel oil, which was later dispersed by chemical sprays and is believed to have caused little or no damage to the reef. Small amounts of oil, however, have begun washing up on beaches near where the ship ran aground, according to Maritime Safety Queensland.

Australian authorities are investigating alleged breaches of the law connected with the accident. The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has warned that cargo ships entering restricted waters would face the full force of the law.

The reef was hit particularly badly because the vessel did not stay in one place once it grounded. Instead, tides and currents pushed it along the reef, crushing and smearing potentially toxic paint on to coral and plants, he said.

Shen Neng 1 has now been lifted off the reef after crews spent three days pumping fuel from the ship to lighten it.

The Great Barrier Reef is a World Heritage site because of its gleaming waters and environmental value as home to thousands of marine species.

China ship 'gouged two-mile scar' in Great Barrier Reef
Talek Harris Yahoo News 13 Apr 10;

SYDNEY (AFP) – A Chinese ship that spent nine days stranded on the Great Barrier Reef gouged a three-kilometre (two-mile) scar in the coral that could take decades to recover, a top expert said on Tuesday.

David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the body overseeing the heritage-listed marine park, said the Shen Neng 1 coal carrier had been grinding against and crushing the reef after it veered off course and smashed into it on April 3.

Officials have expressed anger over the incident and accused the crew of the ship, which was refloated late on Monday and towed away, of taking an illegal route.

"This is by far the largest ship grounding scar we have seen on the Great Barrier Reef to date," Wachenfeld told public broadcaster ABC.

"This vessel did not make an impact in one place and rest there and then was pulled off. This scar is more in the region of three kilometres long and up to 250 metres (yards) wide."

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called the accident, which also leaked about two tonnes of fuel oil into the pristine seas, an "absolute outrage".

"It is still an absolute outrage that this vessel could've landed on the Great Barrier Reef," he said. "We will leave no stone unturned when it comes to finding out how that happened."

An approaching storm hurried authorities into refloating the 230-metre (750 feet) ship -- the length of two football pitches -- after nightfall on Monday. They pumped compressed air into its bunkers and pulled it free using tugboats.

Officials said the rescue had been carried out without adding to the initial oil spill, which created a three-kilometre slick.

Divers were due to assess damage to the ship, still carrying 68,000 tonnes of China-bound coal, which has been towed to a nearby island.

But concern on Tuesday focused on the plight of the reef, which was also left plastered with toxic anti-fouling paint from the ship's hull.

Divers "have found significant scarring and coral damage. They've also found quite a lot of anti-fouling (paint) spread across the reef," Russell Reichelt, chairman of the marine park authority, told ABC radio.

"It is a concern because it's designed to be toxic and stop things growing on ships. We've already seen observations where anti-fouling paint that's been scraped off onto the reef is killing corals in its vicinity."

Officials have promised to investigate allegations that ships have been taking short-cuts through the world's biggest reef, which covers 344,000 square kilometres (137,600 square miles) off the east coast and is a major tourist draw.

On Monday, three crew members from another large carrier appeared in court on charges of entering a restricted part of the reef without permission, and were bailed to reappear on Friday.

Conservationists say the incidents highlight the risk to Australia's environment posed by rocketing resource exports to Asia, which are fuelling a strong recovery from the global financial crisis.

The reef, which is visible from space and is one of the world's foremost ecological treasures, has already come under pressure from rising sea temperatures and pollution.

Chinese Coal Ship Refloated From Australian Reef
Rob Taylor, PlanetArk 14 Apr 10;

Australian salvage teams have refloated a Chinese coal ship which ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef, with the ship's owner likely to face heavy fines despite the avoidance of an environmental disaster.

Chinese bulk carrier Shen Neng 1 was fully loaded and traveling at full speed on Saturday when it struck the Douglas Shoal, toward the southern end of the protected reef, which covers 346,000 sq km (133,600 sq miles) off the northeast coast.

The ship, which leaked around two tons of heavy fuel oil, was refloated at high tide on Monday night and towed to safe anchorage near Great Keppel Island, a tourist resort, for a damage inspection.

"Until we get divers down you can't be totally certain how damaged this thing is underneath," said Queensland state Transport Minister Rachel Nolan on Tuesday.

The stranded ship belongs to the Shenzhen Energy Group, a subsidiary of China's state-owned China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, better known by its acronym COSCO.

COSCO could face fines and costs of up to A$23 million dollars ($21.3 million) over the incident, according to international maritime law experts, while the vessel's captain could be handed an individual penalty of up to A$250,000.

"Make no mistake, this company will pay a very substantial price for this incident," Nolan told Australian radio. "Their ship was off course in very environmentally sensitive areas and they will pay the price."

Police have launched an investigation into the ship's grounding on the request of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, which manages the reef marine reserve.

Park chairman Russell Reichelt said toxic anti-fouling paint from the coal carrier's hull was killing coral and the ship had torn a kilometer-long gash in the reef.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd flagged tougher shipping laws as resource exports from Queensland state intensify. The Queensland state government has already moved to introduce stronger penalties for polluting ships.

(Editing by Mark Bendeich)

Australia refloats Barrier Reef oil spill ship
Talek Harris Yahoo News 12 Apr 10;

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian authorities refloated a huge Chinese ship on Monday that had been stranded on the Great Barrier Reef for over a week after running aground, averting a potential environmental crisis.

Emergency workers successfully moved the 230-metre (750-foot) Shen Neng 1 coal carrier without adding to the two-tonne oil spill that spread a three-kilometre (two-mile) slick after the ship crashed on April 3.

The general manager of Marine Safety Queensland, Patrick Quirk, confirmed that no more oil had been lost and said the ship was being towed to an area east of Great Keppel Island, Australian news agency AAP reported.

"The refloat was a success. Salvors spent an hour-and-a-half assessing the vessel's stability and watching for any evidence of further oil spills," he said.

"Our intention has always been to keep oil loss to a minimum so we could take it to safe anchorage."

Emergency workers had pumped most of the 970 tonnes of heavy fuel oil from the vessel before they were forced to rush the after-dark refloating due to approaching stormy weather and high seas.

Once the ship has been safely anchored, divers will inspect its hull so that a decision can be made on its future movement, Quirk said.

Australia's transport minister has accused the ship's crew of taking an illegal route at the heritage-listed reef, by far the world's biggest, and said prosecutors would be "throwing the book" at those responsible.

The ship strayed about 15 nautical miles from the recognised shipping lane before ploughing into Douglas Shoal at full speed, sustaining heavy damage.

Australian officials immediately promised to investigate allegations that ships were taking short-cuts through the giant reef, which sprawls along 1,800 miles of coast and is a major tourist attraction.

On Monday, three crew members from another large carrier appeared in court on charges of entering a restricted part of the reef without permission, and were bailed to reappear on Friday.

South Korean Gang Chun Han, the 63-year-old master of the Panama-flagged MV Mimosa, and Vietnam's Tran Tan Thanh and Nguyen Van Sang face maximum fines of 225,000 dollars (205,000 US).

Conservationists say the incidents highlight the risk to Australia's environment posed by rocketing resource exports to Asia, which are fuelling a strong recovery from the global financial crisis.

The reef, which is visible from space and is one of the world's foremost ecological treasures, has already come under pressure from rising sea temperatures and pollution.

The government of the northeastern state of Queensland on Monday announced dramatically increased penalties for oil spills on the Great Barrier Reef, including fines of up to 10 million dollars.

The accident comes after a ruptured cargo ship leaked 270,000 litres (70,000 gallons) onto Queensland beaches last March. In August, a well platform caught fire, dumping 28,000 barrels of oil into the seas off northern Australia.