No explanation has yet been offered by the Chinese as to why a bulk coal carrier was sailing well within a restricted marine sanctuary when it ran aground on Australia's Great Barrier Reef on April 2nd. The 230m long bulk carrier
Shen Neng 1 was 9 nautical miles off it's set course near Great Keppel Island, well outside the shipping channel. The ship hit the reef at full speed. It is carrying 65,000 tons of coal as well as estimated 975 tons of heavy fuel oil. A relatively small leak has been spotted coming from the stranded vessel, but the ship is an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen. Fuel oil is a toxic goo that kills any biological organisms it comes into contact with. Dispersants have been sprayed from the air on the relatively small leak of about 3km by 100m. Booms have not been deployed due to a heavy ocean swell. Intial damage reports indicate a breached engine room and a seriously damaged rudder. The captain says there is a hole in the outer hull of the ship. Meanwhile, the heavy vessel continues to grind away at the reef on which it is perched. Salvers are aboard, tugs are in route, and hopefully Australian maritime officials can prevent further environmental damage. There were no local pilots on board the ship when it ran aground, a circumstance an Australian senator called "reckless", but the authorized shipping channel is not considered risky and the
Shen Neng 1 was miles away from it when the grounding occurred. Plans are afoot for even more shipping traffic in the channel to export natural gas and coal. The reef is a UN World Heritage Site.
[photo: Maritime Safety Queensland]
