A Chinese ship that crashed and leaked oil at the Great Barrier Reef took an illegal route and will be prosecuted, the Australian transport minister said yesterday.
“It is quite clear this vessel went on a course that was unlawful,” Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Brisbane, after an aerial tour of the stranded coal carrier. “We’ll be throwing the book at those responsible.”
Meanwhile, Australian police have arrested three men after a bulk carrier illegally entered the Great Barrier Reef, just days after another ship ran aground and leaked tonnes of oil at the world-famous site.
Police said one man from South Korea and two from Vietnam would appear before magistrates after the Panama-flagged MV Mimosa sailed through a restricted area of the world heritage-listed marine park without permission last week.
“Federal agents … executed a search warrant on the vessel yesterday at Bowen, Queensland,” said a statement released yesterday. “Navigational equipment and charts were seized and the three men were arrested.”
Authorities promised to probe allegations that ships were taking short-cuts through the heritage-listed ecological treasure after China’s Shen Neng 1 strayed off a recognized route and crashed into a shoal last week, leaking tonnes of oil.
Emergency teams are now engaged in the delicate task of pumping nearly 1,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil from the stricken, 230m vessel, which is not expected to be refloated and towed away for several days.
Police said the MV Mimosa used an unidentified shipping route in a region between the tourist hotspots of Magnetic Island and the Whitsunday Islands, did not register with authorities and ignored attempts to make contact.
The maximum penalty is a US$220,000 fine. Australia is on the brink of a resources export boom to Asia, meaning an increase in the number of ships using the country’s ports.
“The Great Barrier Reef is an extraordinary natural wonder as well as an important economic driver for Queensland and the nation,” Environment Protection Minister Peter Garrett said.
“That is why we take very seriously any action, which puts at risk the health or the unique values that see it afforded protection on the World Heritage List,” he said.
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