Brisbane: A coal-carrying ship that strayed outside a shipping lane and ran aground in protected waters was leaking oil on Australia's Great Barrier Reef and was in danger of breaking apart, officials said yesterday.
The Chinese Shen Neng 1 ran aground late Saturday on Douglas Shoals, a favourite pristine haunt for recreational fishing east of the Great Keppel Island tourist resort. The shoals — off the coast of Queensland state in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park — are in a protected part of the reef where shipping is restricted by environmental law.
Authorities fear an oil spill will damage the world's largest coral reef, which is off northeast Australia and listed as a World Heritage site.
The ship hit the reef at full speed, nine miles 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 yesterday, but Maritime Safety Queensland reported no major loss from the 1,000 tonnes 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.
"At one stage last night, we thought the ship was close to breaking up," he told reporters. "We are still very concerned about the ship."
Danger
"It is in danger of actually breaking a number of its main structures and breaking into a number of parts," he added.
A salvage contract had been signed, but the operation would be difficult and assessing the damage to the ship could take a week, Quirk said.
Bligh said she feared the salvage operation could spill more oil, which could reach the mainland coast within two days.
Local emergency crews were on standby to clean any oil that reached mainland beaches, she said.
