Barrier Reef oil spill April 4, 2010

If I was at a dinner party listening to this lot I would end up on the floor in an uncontrollable tittering fit.

This thread is a joke.

What do you suggest ?

when I drank a lot, I too would laugh at phone books.

Just because you are having fun with glossolalia and word sounds , dont discount others on the thread who are considering something on a higher plane and therefore more important than you are capable of assessing at the moment.

Even those who disagree completely want something done to prevent or remediate this or similar events.

Which leads me to seriously consider Diest's point: the cost of pilots to assist in navigating ships through such sensitive areas, compared with the huge cost of clean-up operations. Say nothing of the (yet unknown in this case) impact on the marine environment.

To me (non-expert that I am) prevention looks a whole lot more palatable, say nothing of much less expensive than the "cure", of cleaning up after after such an accident. Two tonnes of oil into the ocean this time. What next time?

Apart from that, the presence of a pilot might well make the operators of such ships more careful, responsible, or less "accident" prone.:

...., obviously the Australian government needs to tighten up the rules about passage through such areas. At the moment it looks rather like anything goes.

What were those numbers again on the clean up of this itty bitty fuel leak compared to the cost of a Pilot again?

Authorities say it is too early to claim a major crisis has been averted on the Great Barrier Reef off central Queensland as the salvage of a bulk coal carrier will be delicate and could take weeks.

Oil pumped from grounded coal ship
Updated 4 hours 15 minutes ago

Salvagers have pumped almost 40 tonnes of oil from a coal carrier grounded on the Great Barrier Reef off central Queensland.

It has been almost a week since the Shen Neng ran aground on Douglas Shoal, spilling more than two tonnes of oil.

Authorities are now pumping out more than 970 tonnes of fuel oil still on the ship.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says the ship's insurer will be forced to pay for the salvage operation and the Government will recoup its expenses from the insurance company.

"But that is a matter for down the track," she said.

"Number one priority - get this ship out of this reef safely without any damage to the reef."

Ms Bligh says the shipping company could face fines of up to a million dollars over the incident. ...<cont>

Reporting dispute

Australian maritime authorities are disputing a claim that the grounding was reported within five minutes. ... <cont>

Shouldnt they lead by example ?

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says the ship's insurer will be forced to pay for the salvage operation and the Government will recoup its expenses from the insurance company.

Australia to prosecute over Barrier Reef ship crash
last updated at 11:46 GMT, Sunday, 11 April 2010 12:46 UK/BBC NEWS


The Great Barrier Reef

Those responsible for a Chinese ship running aground on the Great Barrier Reef and leaking oil will be prosecuted, Australian authorities say.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the vessel was clearly on an unlawful route and compensation would be sought for the spill.

"We'll be throwing the book at those responsible," Mr Albanese said.

In a separate case, three men have been charged with steering their cargo ship through a restricted area of the Reef.

The men, from Vietnam and South Korea, will appear in an Australian court on Monday, accused of taking their coal carrier on an unauthorised route through one of the world's most valuable marine wildlife reserves.

It is alleged that their vessel, the MV Mimosa, was not registered with the Reef Vessel Tracking System and failed to respond to attempts by the authorities to establish contact.

If found guilty, the men could face a maximum fine of more than A$200,000 ($205,000).

Oil fear

The Chinese vessel, the Shen Nang 1, rammed into a sandbank some 70km (43 miles) off the east coast of Great Keppel Island on 4 April after straying off its permitted route.

"It is quite clear that this vessel went on a course that was unlawful," Mr Albanese told reporters after flying over the stranded ship.

"The Australian government will ensure that the full force of the law is brought to bear on those responsible," he said.

"And we will also ensure... compensation is paid with regard to the cost of cleaning up."

Salvage crews have been pumping fuel oil from the vessel, which was carrying carrying 950 tonnes of oil and about 65,000 tonnes of coal.

Inflatable booms are in place around it to contain any oil that may spill.

In the wake of these incidents, it has emerged that bulk carriers regularly take short cuts through the world heritage-listed marine park - reef "rat-runs" that cut down on voyage times and therefore save money.

The Australian government has vowed to tighten up its maritime laws in response

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef system and extends for more than 2,500km.

Government provides reason to cry over spilt oil
April 12, 2010 - 2:29PM/SMH

Queensland will increase its penalties for ships causing oil spills five-fold, threatening offenders with fines of up to $10 million.

Premier Anna Bligh said cabinet had approved new laws following the oil spill from the Chinese bulk coal carrier Shen Neng 1, which ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef last week.

Ms Bligh said the maximum penalty for corporations would increase by five times from $1.75 million, while individuals would face a $500,000 fine - up from $350,000.

The penalties would apply also when oil spills in commonwealth waters drifted into state waters and washed up on the state's coastline, and would be equal to the toughest penalties in the country, Ms Bligh said.

"This increase in penalties will send a message to the thousands of ship crews who pass through Queensland waters that nothing but the greatest attention to safety and care will be tolerated," she said.

"Ten million dollars is a lot of money for any company to have to hand over in the event of a marine mishap, and it would be in addition to any compensation a company would to pay for a clean up."

The new legislation will be introduced to Queensland parliament this week.

AAP

Coal carrier refloat planned tonight
JESSICA MARSZALEK
April 12, 2010 - 3:24PM/SMH

Authorities will tonight attempt to refloat the bulk coal carrier stranded on the Great Barrier Reef before bad weather hits the region.

Salvagers say the 230-metre Shen Neng 1, which ran aground on Douglas Shoal off Rockhampton on April 3, has been moving slightly, raising hopes the vessel can be refloated.

Preparatory efforts today have involved pumping compressed air into its tanks, to see what kind of lift that provides.

Most of the 970 tonnes of heavy fuel oil aboard the ship has already been pumped out ahead of the attempt to refloat the carrier.

Maritime Safety Queensland general manager Patrick Quirk said the plan, to be confirmed at 5pm, was to attempt the refloat at 6pm, with high tide expected at 8pm.

He said the formation of an east-coast low in the area had hastened the refloat operation.

"Doing nothing at the moment is not an option," he said.

"We would need to try to move that vessel before the swell and the wind increases tomorrow afternoon."

He said divers had not inspected the physical damage underneath the vessel but naval architects who inspected the inside believed it had enough stability and strength to survive a refloat.

Following the refloat, authorities would inspect the vessel to ensure there were no structural failures or further oil leaks before it was tugged to safe waters northwest of Keppel Island.

But he said there were "no guarantees".

"We have another window of opportunity eight o'clock tomorrow morning if we fail tonight," he said.

Mr Quirk said extra tugs would be sent to help if the carrier remained stranded when the weather turned late on Wednesday.

"We would just need to handle that," he said.

"... It's not ideal conditions but these salvors save vessels in the middle of the north Atlantic storms and I'm sure we can get the vessel off.

"Unfortunately the vessel will probably suffer more damage during that process and there's increased risk of oil leaking from the vessel in those circumstances."

AAP