Reef pilots debate has a long history (click here)
April 4, 2010, 2:00 pm
When bulk coal carrier Shen Neng 1 ran aground on a shoal in Great Barrier Reef waters on Saturday it did not have a marine pilot aboard to guide it through.
The vessel grounded on a reef 15 kilometres from the shipping channel it was supposed to traverse.
The incident has again sparked debate over whether pilots should be compulsory on vessels traversing the passage between the outer reef and the Queensland coastline.
It's a debate that has gone on for decades.
A near-identical incident in 2000 saw a Malaysian-flagged container ship run aground on Sudbury Reef off Cairns.
On November 2, 2000 the Bunga Teratai Satu ploughed into Sudbury Reef at full speed, its bow penetrating 100 metres onto the coral.
The ship was refloated, without spilling fuel or cargo, on November 14, 2000.
The incident again sparked media debate about the need for pilots on the large freighters which traverse the waters of the inner reef.
The official report into the grounding, by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, noted that "a detailed study of pilotage in the inner route of the Great Barrier Reef is currently being undertaken jointly by AMSA and the Queensland Department of Transport"....
Pleasure boats that are sailing vessels and don't have toxic substances aboard don't have limits.
This was completely avoidable. Shipping lanes have to be established near the protected areas, especially considering this is a substantial carbon sink.
Oil operations need to be dispatched immediately to being to secure the oil from the reef. In addition to proximity limits there also has to be an 'early warning' system, in that, as soon as a Captain detects any peril to these areas it is reported and corrective action can be taken ahead of any disaster.
I realize ship Captains are responsible for their cargo, but, to some extent the shipping companies need to have 'at the ready' funding to dispatch 'avoidant measures' in instances when their cargo are destined for sensitive areas. There has to be disincentives for this kind of idiocy.
The Chinese carrier Shen Neng 1 ran aground and was leaking oil around the Great Barrier Reef off of Australia.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 4, 2010
Filed at 2:40 a.m. ETBRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- 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 Sunday.
The Chinese coal carrier Shen Neng 1 ran aground late Saturday on Douglas Shoals, a favorite 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, nine miles (15 kilometers) outside the shipping lane, State 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 Sunday, but Maritime Safety Queensland reported no major loss from the 1,000 tons (950 metric tons) 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....
