gee13
Contributor
no pun intended on the breaking news of course
Chinese bulk carrier runs aground on GBR
- Thread starter James Bond boat entry
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sydney-diver
Contributor
tracy_from_oz
Contributor
Reef damage from carrier stretches 1km - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Reef damage from carrier stretches 1km
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) says the Shen Neng 1 has caused widespread damage to the reef.
The Chinese coal-carrier ran aground on Douglas Shoal off Rockhampton on Easter Saturday and was towed to safe anchorage overnight.
It is now five nautical miles north-east of Great Keppel Island.
Divers have made a preliminary assessment of the reef and GBRMPA says the coral damage and paint scrapings stretch for more than a kilometre.
GBRMPA Chairman Russell Reichelt says the clean-up is likely to be the biggest operation ever undertaken on the reef.
"It didn't just [run] aground and stop," he said.
"It migrated over a kilometre over the week doing damage as it went.
"On the first look they have found significant scarring and coral damage - they've also found quite a lot of anti-fouling."
He says it could be weeks before the full extent of the damage is known.
"The paint that's been scraped off onto the reef is killing corals in its vicinity or they're showing signs of almost immediate mortality from being close to the anti-fouling," he said.
A Bill will be introduced into State Parliament within the next few days to increase the penalties for spilling oil and other toxic substances on the reef.
Premier Anna Bligh says the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill of 2010 will be introduced to the House later this week.
"That Bill will include provisions to significantly increase the maximum penalties for the spilling of oil or noxious liquids and the jettisoning of harmful substances in Queensland waters," Ms Bligh said.
GBRMPA is holding discussions with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority about improving shipping safety through the marine park.
Russell Reichelt says the volume of shipping through the reef is increasing and there are lessons to be learnt from the latest incident.
"I'm a multiple-use marine park advocate but I do think we have claimed in the past that we've got the best shipping protection in the world," he said.
"If the best isn't good enough - we're still having groundings.
"We have to do better."
Great Keppel Island businessman Jerry Christie says residents are concerned about the ship being towed to the area.
"Everybody would have preferred it to be towed into Gladstone but I guess with the poor weather they would have really been scattering last night to get it refloated," Mr Christie said.
"They would have been looking at a map figuring where the safest place was to get it out of the wind and that's where they picked."
Sustainability Minister Kate Jones says the area around the ship is being closely monitored.
"While the overnight refloating operations off Douglas Shoal have been successful so far, we're not taking anything for granted," she said.
Reef damage from carrier stretches 1km
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) says the Shen Neng 1 has caused widespread damage to the reef.
The Chinese coal-carrier ran aground on Douglas Shoal off Rockhampton on Easter Saturday and was towed to safe anchorage overnight.
It is now five nautical miles north-east of Great Keppel Island.
Divers have made a preliminary assessment of the reef and GBRMPA says the coral damage and paint scrapings stretch for more than a kilometre.
GBRMPA Chairman Russell Reichelt says the clean-up is likely to be the biggest operation ever undertaken on the reef.
"It didn't just [run] aground and stop," he said.
"It migrated over a kilometre over the week doing damage as it went.
"On the first look they have found significant scarring and coral damage - they've also found quite a lot of anti-fouling."
He says it could be weeks before the full extent of the damage is known.
"The paint that's been scraped off onto the reef is killing corals in its vicinity or they're showing signs of almost immediate mortality from being close to the anti-fouling," he said.
A Bill will be introduced into State Parliament within the next few days to increase the penalties for spilling oil and other toxic substances on the reef.
Premier Anna Bligh says the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill of 2010 will be introduced to the House later this week.
"That Bill will include provisions to significantly increase the maximum penalties for the spilling of oil or noxious liquids and the jettisoning of harmful substances in Queensland waters," Ms Bligh said.
GBRMPA is holding discussions with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority about improving shipping safety through the marine park.
Russell Reichelt says the volume of shipping through the reef is increasing and there are lessons to be learnt from the latest incident.
"I'm a multiple-use marine park advocate but I do think we have claimed in the past that we've got the best shipping protection in the world," he said.
"If the best isn't good enough - we're still having groundings.
"We have to do better."
Great Keppel Island businessman Jerry Christie says residents are concerned about the ship being towed to the area.
"Everybody would have preferred it to be towed into Gladstone but I guess with the poor weather they would have really been scattering last night to get it refloated," Mr Christie said.
"They would have been looking at a map figuring where the safest place was to get it out of the wind and that's where they picked."
Sustainability Minister Kate Jones says the area around the ship is being closely monitored.
"While the overnight refloating operations off Douglas Shoal have been successful so far, we're not taking anything for granted," she said.
tracy_from_oz
Contributor
Photos reveal reef damage - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Photos reveal reef damage
Photographs released this morning show the extent of the damage caused as the giant Chinese coal carrier Shen Neng 1 battered against a remote coral reef off the Queensland coast.
The photos, released by Great Barrier Reef Marine Park authorities, show a diver swimming above a track which has been gouged in the reef at Douglas Shoal.
This morning Queensland environmental experts and specialist clean-up crews are heading to an island on the Great Barrier Reef where oil has washed onto pristine beaches off the state's central coast.
Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) says there is oil on North West Island, about 10 nautical miles from where the Chinese ship Shen Neng 1 ran aground on Easter Saturday.
The coal carrier has since been refloated and towed to safe anchorage.
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett says nearby islands may also have been contaminated.
Mr Garrett has told ABC Radio's AM program that Tryon Island is also environmentally sensitive.
"I'm very, very concerned but also aware that we are focusing on those places which have got high environmental values and that the clean-up will take place as quickly and effectively as it can," he said.
"I'm certainly very concerned that some of the neighbouring islands there like Tryon Island might also have been contaminated and so those islands of course will also be investigated as a matter of course."
Protecting wildlife
MSQ spokesman Patrick Quirk says North West Island is the second largest coral cay on the reef and is home to key nesting grounds for seabirds and turtles.
"The place is very sensitive - it is one of the most sensitive areas of the southern area of the Great Barrier Reef," he said.
"It is world famous for its bird nesting and its turtle rookeries. We understand there are baby turtles being hatched at the moment and our concern is to protect the wildlife.
"[The oil] hasn't come ashore in large globules or carpets - our advice from the rangers on the island is it is at the top of the tide line in patches and that gives us some comfort.
"But we will need to get our specialist beach clean-up experts and they will report to us immediately what's there and if needed we will fly out more people."
Capricorn Conservation Council spokesman Ian Herbert says the pollution of North West Island is tragic.
"It's habitat for a huge variety of marine life - turtle hatchlings are there at the moment, nesting birds," he said.
"Any damage to North West Island is really quite a tragedy - we're upset that it has happened, as are all Queenslanders."
Mr Quirk says the Shen Neng 1 lost oil twice on its initial grounding on Douglas Shoal, east of Rockhampton.
"We had another small spill on the Saturday afternoon last and it is quite possible that it is that oil [from the Seng Neng 1]," he said.
"We had aircraft out searching but aircraft can't pick up every drop of oil in the ocean, unfortunately."
However, Mr Quirk says this oil spill on the Great Barrier Reef island is not as bad as the massive spill that polluted south-east Queensland beaches last year.
Last March, a cargo ship leaked more than 270,000 litres of oil, prompting a clean-up from Moreton Island to the Sunshine Coast.
Political stoush
Coalition Senator Senator Barnaby Joyce says the Shen Neng 1 became a tourist attraction for Labor politicians while it was grounded on the reef.
Senator Joyce is visiting the region to campaign in the Labor-held seats of Capricornia and Flynn.
Over the past 10 days, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Mr Garrett, Premier Anna Bligh and State Transport Minister Rachel Nolan all flew over the coal carrier and Senator Joyce said the flights were pointless.
"Not only did the Prime Minister want to look at the coal ship, it looks like just about everybody in the Labor Party wanted to go for a ride over and have a look at the coal ship," he said.
"I don't know that looking actually moved it - probably made them feel good - but it hasn't done much to actually move the vessel - that was more done by the people actually on the water rather than in the air."
Meanwhile, Queensland Transport Minister Rachel Nolan says a change to the vessel tracking system played no role in the grounding of the coal ship.
The Member for Mirani, Ted Malone, has been critical of a decision to move the tracking system's control centre from Hay Point near Mackay to Townsville.
But Ms Nolan has told Parliament the relocation made no difference to the area covered by the tracking system.
"The Member for Mirani's recent claim that there had been a shipping disaster in response to the move of the vessel tracking system was quite frankly facile," she said.
"There was no change in the footprint that was created by the vessel tracking system."
Photos reveal reef damage
Photographs released this morning show the extent of the damage caused as the giant Chinese coal carrier Shen Neng 1 battered against a remote coral reef off the Queensland coast.
The photos, released by Great Barrier Reef Marine Park authorities, show a diver swimming above a track which has been gouged in the reef at Douglas Shoal.
This morning Queensland environmental experts and specialist clean-up crews are heading to an island on the Great Barrier Reef where oil has washed onto pristine beaches off the state's central coast.
Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) says there is oil on North West Island, about 10 nautical miles from where the Chinese ship Shen Neng 1 ran aground on Easter Saturday.
The coal carrier has since been refloated and towed to safe anchorage.
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett says nearby islands may also have been contaminated.
Mr Garrett has told ABC Radio's AM program that Tryon Island is also environmentally sensitive.
"I'm very, very concerned but also aware that we are focusing on those places which have got high environmental values and that the clean-up will take place as quickly and effectively as it can," he said.
"I'm certainly very concerned that some of the neighbouring islands there like Tryon Island might also have been contaminated and so those islands of course will also be investigated as a matter of course."
Protecting wildlife
MSQ spokesman Patrick Quirk says North West Island is the second largest coral cay on the reef and is home to key nesting grounds for seabirds and turtles.
"The place is very sensitive - it is one of the most sensitive areas of the southern area of the Great Barrier Reef," he said.
"It is world famous for its bird nesting and its turtle rookeries. We understand there are baby turtles being hatched at the moment and our concern is to protect the wildlife.
"[The oil] hasn't come ashore in large globules or carpets - our advice from the rangers on the island is it is at the top of the tide line in patches and that gives us some comfort.
"But we will need to get our specialist beach clean-up experts and they will report to us immediately what's there and if needed we will fly out more people."
Capricorn Conservation Council spokesman Ian Herbert says the pollution of North West Island is tragic.
"It's habitat for a huge variety of marine life - turtle hatchlings are there at the moment, nesting birds," he said.
"Any damage to North West Island is really quite a tragedy - we're upset that it has happened, as are all Queenslanders."
Mr Quirk says the Shen Neng 1 lost oil twice on its initial grounding on Douglas Shoal, east of Rockhampton.
"We had another small spill on the Saturday afternoon last and it is quite possible that it is that oil [from the Seng Neng 1]," he said.
"We had aircraft out searching but aircraft can't pick up every drop of oil in the ocean, unfortunately."
However, Mr Quirk says this oil spill on the Great Barrier Reef island is not as bad as the massive spill that polluted south-east Queensland beaches last year.
Last March, a cargo ship leaked more than 270,000 litres of oil, prompting a clean-up from Moreton Island to the Sunshine Coast.
Political stoush
Coalition Senator Senator Barnaby Joyce says the Shen Neng 1 became a tourist attraction for Labor politicians while it was grounded on the reef.
Senator Joyce is visiting the region to campaign in the Labor-held seats of Capricornia and Flynn.
Over the past 10 days, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Mr Garrett, Premier Anna Bligh and State Transport Minister Rachel Nolan all flew over the coal carrier and Senator Joyce said the flights were pointless.
"Not only did the Prime Minister want to look at the coal ship, it looks like just about everybody in the Labor Party wanted to go for a ride over and have a look at the coal ship," he said.
"I don't know that looking actually moved it - probably made them feel good - but it hasn't done much to actually move the vessel - that was more done by the people actually on the water rather than in the air."
Meanwhile, Queensland Transport Minister Rachel Nolan says a change to the vessel tracking system played no role in the grounding of the coal ship.
The Member for Mirani, Ted Malone, has been critical of a decision to move the tracking system's control centre from Hay Point near Mackay to Townsville.
But Ms Nolan has told Parliament the relocation made no difference to the area covered by the tracking system.
"The Member for Mirani's recent claim that there had been a shipping disaster in response to the move of the vessel tracking system was quite frankly facile," she said.
"There was no change in the footprint that was created by the vessel tracking system."
sydney-diver
Contributor
tracy_from_oz
Contributor
Two crew to front court over oil spill ship - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Two crew to front court over oil spill ship
Two senior crew members of a Chinese coal carrier which ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef off Rockhampton will face a central Queensland court today.
Two Chinese nationals in their 40s were arrested by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on board the Shen Neng 1 yesterday afternoon.
The AFP says they are the ship's Master and Chief-Officer-on-Watch.
The two crew members have spent the night in custody.
They have been charged with causing damage to the Great Barrier Reef and are due to appear in Gladstone Magistrates Court this morning.
The ship is now anchored off Barren Island, after it was refloated and moved from Douglas Shoal, east of Rockhampton, on Monday night.
The AFP says the ship grounded when it failed to make a turn under its intended course.
Clean-up
Yesterday clean-up crews removed about six bags of oil-soaked sand from a beach on North West Island, about 10 nautical miles from where the ship ran aground.
Poor weather conditions yesterday prevented divers from further examining the ship's hull.
Maritime authorities say it could be a few days before divers go back in the water.
Scientists will also further assess the damage caused to the Great Barrier Reef by the coal carrier.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) says the ship has left the biggest grounding scar ever seen on the reef.
Scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) will take a research boat to Douglas Shoal to investigate the extent of damage from the grounded coal ship.
AIMS spokesman Andrew Negri says high-tech equipment will be used to monitor the coral and marine life.
"That's a sonar device which produces very high resolution images of the surface of the reef," he said.
"The resolution is down to about 10 centimetres so it can effectively pick up large coral.
"We'll be towing some high resolution videos behind the ship over a very large section of the reef.
"This will tell us a lot about the habitat on the reef."
AIMS chief executive officer Ian Poiner says it is planning for the research boat to be at Douglas Shoal for at least four to five days
"I think our assessments will provide a clarity about what has been the impact," he said.
"It'll also help design future studies so we can monitor recovery and also provide advice around any immediate mitigations that are required to help the recovery process."
Vessel tracking
Meanwhile, Queensland Parliament has debated the need for a vessel tracking system (VTS) in the Great Barrier Reef to be extended.
The Opposition moved a motion calling for the tracking to be extended further south.
Opposition transport spokeswoman Fiona Simpson told the House "rat running" by ships is unacceptable.
"When did they know that there were ships going through this area potentially capable of creating such incredible damage," she said.
Transport Minister Rachel Nolan says the State Government has already promised to push for an extension of the ship monitoring program.
"So it seems the Opposition ... having never known anything about the VTS before, now can simply not take yes for an answer," she said.
The Government accused the Opposition of hypocrisy for not supporting other legislation to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Two crew to front court over oil spill ship
Two senior crew members of a Chinese coal carrier which ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef off Rockhampton will face a central Queensland court today.
Two Chinese nationals in their 40s were arrested by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on board the Shen Neng 1 yesterday afternoon.
The AFP says they are the ship's Master and Chief-Officer-on-Watch.
The two crew members have spent the night in custody.
They have been charged with causing damage to the Great Barrier Reef and are due to appear in Gladstone Magistrates Court this morning.
The ship is now anchored off Barren Island, after it was refloated and moved from Douglas Shoal, east of Rockhampton, on Monday night.
The AFP says the ship grounded when it failed to make a turn under its intended course.
Clean-up
Yesterday clean-up crews removed about six bags of oil-soaked sand from a beach on North West Island, about 10 nautical miles from where the ship ran aground.
Poor weather conditions yesterday prevented divers from further examining the ship's hull.
Maritime authorities say it could be a few days before divers go back in the water.
Scientists will also further assess the damage caused to the Great Barrier Reef by the coal carrier.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) says the ship has left the biggest grounding scar ever seen on the reef.
Scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) will take a research boat to Douglas Shoal to investigate the extent of damage from the grounded coal ship.
AIMS spokesman Andrew Negri says high-tech equipment will be used to monitor the coral and marine life.
"That's a sonar device which produces very high resolution images of the surface of the reef," he said.
"The resolution is down to about 10 centimetres so it can effectively pick up large coral.
"We'll be towing some high resolution videos behind the ship over a very large section of the reef.
"This will tell us a lot about the habitat on the reef."
AIMS chief executive officer Ian Poiner says it is planning for the research boat to be at Douglas Shoal for at least four to five days
"I think our assessments will provide a clarity about what has been the impact," he said.
"It'll also help design future studies so we can monitor recovery and also provide advice around any immediate mitigations that are required to help the recovery process."
Vessel tracking
Meanwhile, Queensland Parliament has debated the need for a vessel tracking system (VTS) in the Great Barrier Reef to be extended.
The Opposition moved a motion calling for the tracking to be extended further south.
Opposition transport spokeswoman Fiona Simpson told the House "rat running" by ships is unacceptable.
"When did they know that there were ships going through this area potentially capable of creating such incredible damage," she said.
Transport Minister Rachel Nolan says the State Government has already promised to push for an extension of the ship monitoring program.
"So it seems the Opposition ... having never known anything about the VTS before, now can simply not take yes for an answer," she said.
The Government accused the Opposition of hypocrisy for not supporting other legislation to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
sydney-diver
Contributor
It's amazing how much damage it did, they're talking about a 250m wide gash going for several kilometers. I can understand the several km's since a 250m long ship loaded up with coal has a lot of intertia but 250m wide? Maybe it's the antifoul, otherwise it would have to hit sideways??
Soe more details - GPS error led to Great Barrier Reef disaster
Soe more details - GPS error led to Great Barrier Reef disaster
Sure appreciate your posts.. it is hard to find anything out about this since I am currently out of the country
from my take on the coverage, the vessel was 244m long (IIRC). that would merely mean she plowed on straight ahead as one would expect but with weather/current/seas on the beam she was driven LATERALLY across the reef table for the several km
sydney-diver
Contributor
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