A coal-carrying ship that ran aground and was leaking oil on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef was in danger of breaking apart, officials said yesterday.
The Chinese coal carrier Shen Neng 1 ran aground late on Saturday on Douglas Shoals, a pristine haunt for recreational fishing east of the Great Keppel Island tourist resort. The shoals are in a protected part of the reef where shipping is restricted by environmental law off the coast of Queensland state in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Authorities fear an oil spill will damage the world’s largest coral reef off northeast Australia, listed as a World Heritage site for its environmental value.
The ship hit the reef at full speed, 15km outside the shipping lane, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said.
A police boat was standing by to remove the 23 crew if the ship broke apart and an evacuation was necessary, she said.
Patches of oil were seen near the stricken ship early yesterday, but Maritime Safety Queensland reported no major loss from the 950 tonnes of oil on board.
“We are now very worried we might see further oil discharged from this ship,” Bligh told reporters.
Maritime Safety Queensland General Manager Patrick Quirk said the vessel was badly damaged on its port side.
“At one stage last night, we thought the ship was close to breaking up,” he told reporters. “We are still very concerned about the ship.”
“It is in danger of actually breaking a number of its main structures and breaking into a number of parts,” he said.
A salvage contract had been signed, but the operation would be difficult and assessing the damage to the ship could take a week, Quirk said.
Bligh said she feared the salvage operation could spill more oil, which could reach the mainland coast within two days.
Local emergency crews were on standby to clean any oil that reached mainland beaches, she said.
Aircraft yesterday began spraying chemicals on the oil patches to disperse it, she said.
Australian Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett said authorities had been working through the night to determine what risks the ship posed to the environment.
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