A coal ship that ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef did not damage the site’s world heritage status, but UNESCO will monitor the effects of increased shipping on the world’s largest coral reef, the UN cultural agency’s boss said yesterday.
A Chinese bulk carrier strayed from a shipping lane off northeast Australia and crashed into the reef on April 3, leaking more than 2 tonnes of fuel oil and etching a 3km scar across a coral shoal that experts say may take 20 years to heal.
The ship has since been salvaged and removed from the protected waters of the reef’s marine park.
Irina Bokova, director-general of the UNESCO, inspected the crash site on Tuesday. UNESCO included the reef on its World Heritage List in 1981 for its natural beauty, biodiversity and scientific importance
“The Great Barrier Reef is one of the wonders of the world,” Bokova said yesterday. “We were preoccupied after what happened.”
The former Bulgarian lawmaker said she accepted Australian assurances that the grounding had not effected the reef “deeply, so profoundly” as to damage its World Heritage status.
She said she accepted Australian assurances that the reef would remain safe, despite an increasing number of coal carriers passing through its waters to feed China’s voracious demand for energy.
“For the time being, I don’t have any reasons not to trust the authorities in their commitment to protect the site,” she said.
“Whenever we see a danger because of some allowed economic activity, then be reassured that we are intervening with strong messages,” she said.
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