Cargo on coral reef
arrested the Chinese captain

The ship carried 65,000 tons of coal and 950 tons of oil. “It will probably take 20 years to ‘heal’ the great coral reef”

CANBERRA – The Australian police arrested the captain and a command officer of the Sheng Neng 1, the Chinese cargo that went to run aground on the coral reef in early April. The Herald Sun newspaper reported.

The Chinese merchantman, 230 meters long, was carrying 65 thousand tons of coal loaded in the port of Gladstone and had 950 tons of oil on board. He was stranded on the Australian Great Barrier Reef on April 4th. Fuel had come out of the tanks even though, fortunately, the ship had not broken. The environmental alarm was triggered immediately.

Yesterday the ship was floated with a high tide and before an expected severe disturbance that could have further aggravated the situation. Most of the contents of the tanks were pumped into a barge. The cargo was then towed to a safe anchorage at Great Keppel Island, off Rockhampton, but damage to the hull and coral reefs has yet to be assessed.

As regards the environmental impact, a first evaluation has already been carried out: “It will probably take 20 years to ‘heal’ the great coral reef”, says the scientist at the head of the Australian marine authority, David Wachenfeld. To inflict a very serious wound on the great coral reef, explains the researcher, it was the movements of the cargo after the accident. The boat, in fact, continued to move, pushed by the currents, destroying huge portions of the coral ecosystem. “Never seen such huge damage, yet it is not the first ship to run aground – says Wachenfeld to the Independent – In some areas marine life has literally been swept away from the bottom, and the structure of the coral wall has been pulverized by the weight of the boat “.

For this reason Australia has decided to proceed by law against the cargo that would have entered an area not foreseen by the agreed routes. “It is absolutely certain that the boat had embarked on an ‘illegal’ itinerary – says Australian Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese – We will proceed to bring legal proceedings against those responsible”. But it will certainly not be the money to repair environmental damage of such large proportions.

(April 14, 2010)