Qld: Near-disaster demands action to protect Barrier Reef

AAP General News (Australia)
04-16-2010
Qld: Near-disaster demands action to protect Barrier Reef

By Steve Gray

BRISBANE, April 16 AAP - The grounding of the coal carrier Shen Neng 1 may turn out
to be the near-disaster that prods environmental authorities to ward off a real disaster
on the Great Barrier Reef.

Luck was on the side of the reef, and federal and state authorities, after the 230m
Chinese coal carrier ploughed full-speed into Douglas Shoal on Easter Saturday.

The vessel did not break apart as was first feared, and the weather held calm for the
eight days it took to refloat the vessel and tow it to safety. The oil that escaped probably
has done no lasting damage.

Damage was done in the path the Shen Neng 1 gouged in the coral, and a small amount
of oil has affected the important bird habitat at North West Island, 18km from Douglas
Shoal.

But in the totality of the Great Barrier Reef's 2000km of coral and the neighbouring
coastline, the harm is minimal considering what would have happened if the ship had fallen
apart.

When the container ship Pacific Adventurer lost 270 tonnes of oil in March 2009, it
dumped a blanket of pollution along Moreton and Bribie islands and Sunshine Coast beaches.

That was a major environmental fouling, requiring a clean-up effort that occupied 2500
people over two months, but it affected mainly sandy beaches in populated areas - not
the rocky and remote foreshores of central Queensland.

The spillage of 950 tonnes of fuel oil had the Shen Neng 1 broken apart would have
been a catastrophe.

The Shen Neng 1 incident has concentrated minds very well on the protection of the
reef and may prove to be a turning point in safeguarding the World Heritage-listed environment.

The coal carrier's grounding came just as a massive boom in central Queensland coal
and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports is cranking up.

For state and federal authorities, it's a stark reminder of the danger a major increase
in shipping will pose to the reef and related industries.

The outcry that followed the grounding is also a warning to politicians that the public
wants the reef protected.

The incident exposed deep flaws in reef surveillance, a lack of understanding of threats
to the reef, and revealed the cavalier attitude of some sea captains to navigation through
reef waters.

The latest narrow escape stands as a warning to prepare against future accidents that
could do terrible damage to the reef, the life it supports and to the fringing coastal
environment.

The Queensland government was caught unprepared when the Pacific Adventurer's fuel
tanks were ruptured in heavy seas off the southeast Queensland coast.

In its response to the Shen Neng 1 grounding, and the threatened spillage of up to
950 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, the government seemed better prepared - indicating some
lessons had been learned from the earlier incident.

There was fear that spilled oil would wash ashore in Shoalwater Bay and the adjoining
Byfield National Park, areas of largely inaccessible rocky inlets that would be almost
impossible to clean of oil.

It would have been acutely embarrassing to the Queensland and federal governments,
and especially to Environment Minister Peter Garrett, if this pristine area became caked
in oil on his watch.

It was Mr Garrett - former rock star and Australian Conservation Foundation president
- who said, in 1992, that "Shoalwater Bay is one of the last unspoilt wildernesses in
the world".

The chances such an emergency will occur are increasing with a sharp rise in shipping
along the coast.

Forecasts suggest the central Queensland port city of Gladstone will be dealing with
some 3700 ships a year by 2017, compared with the current 1500.

There will be similar increases in traffic from other Queensland ports as vast new
coal deposits are opened up for export.

Coal exports will increase, and the state government has recently announced $60 billion
in LNG exports to East Asia.

As in the case of the Pacific Adventurer, the state government was unprepared for the
Shen Neng 1's erroneous navigation.

AAP's repeated requests to the premier's office as to the effect the vessel's 65,000
tonnes of coal would have on the reef if the ship broke apart remain unanswered.

It is obvious the government had never asked itself what effect the coal would have
if the ship broke up, as was first feared.

Into this drama steamed the 189m MV Mimosa, allegedly illegally sailing through protected
no-go reef zones off Cape Bowling Green, near Townsville.

Its "rat run" through the reef, within hours of the Shen Neng 1's grounding, highlighted
the lack of surveillance and the contempt with which some mariners treat the protected
waters.

It also ratcheted up the pressure on government to improve tracking or pilotage of
vessels through the reef.

The captain and first and second mates of the Mimosa are facing charges of entering
a prohibited zone of the reef without permission on April 4.

There have been many calls for all ships passing through the Great Barrier Reef to
have a pilot aboard.

In the short term, this is an impossible task. Australia, which has run down its maritime
industry for decades, doesn't have enough pilots.

A more likely response from governments, not least for reasons of cost, is to expand
the tracking of vessels through reef waters.

The technology exists and is in use off the Queensland coast, but not in the area where
the Shen Neng 1 went astray.

Queensland's commercial fishers argue that they are forced to carry location devices
to ensure they are not infringing on the reef's protected areas, so why shouldn't these
large cargo ships?

Premier Anna Bligh has announced the maximum penalty for corporations involved in oil
spills in Queensland waters will increase from $1.75 million to $10 million while the
maximum fine for individuals will increase from $350,000 to $500,000.

On Thursday the master and first officer of the Shen Neng 1 were granted bail in the
Gladstone Magistrates Court on charges relating to the grounding.

AAP stg/jl/apm

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