It sounds like the plot of a disaster movie !
A giant bulk carrier containing sixty five thousand tonnes of coal and with 975 tonnes of heavy fuel oil in her bunkers is stuck fast on a shoal in the waters of the Great Barrier reef.
Salvaging this ship will present huge problems. She hit the shoal at full speed and the coral virtually tore the bottom out of her - and now that fuel oil is leaking into the pristine waters of our greatest marine national park. There is every chance that the wreck will breakup.
The shipping channel through the waters of the Great Barrier reef is a known hazard, and yet we do not demand that shipping using this route be under the command of an experienced pilot.
It would be a reasonable question to ask - why is this allowed ?
No doubt the Chinese owners of the ship will be saddled with salvage and rehabilitation costs, but it is also evident that beaches on the Queensland coast and nearby Great Keppel island will be damaged - and our vital tourist industry will be threatened.
This ship was fifteen miles off course outside the shipping lane. Either incompetence or a lack of local knowledge could have been prevented had an experienced pilot been at the helm.
Surely a requirement that must be immediately implemented for all Barrier reef shipping !
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