Chinese Ship Leaking Oil Near Great Barrier Reef

[bujhee kom]

Chinese ship leaking oil near Great Barrier Reef

by Madeleine Coorey – Sun Apr 4, 4:25 am ET

SYDNEY (AFP) – A Chinese coal carrier leaking oil in Australia's environmentally sensitive Great Barrier Reef area after running aground could be in danger of breaking up, authorities warned Sunday.

The Shen Neng 1 became stranded on a shoal 70 kilometres (43 miles) east of Great Keppel Island off the Queensland coast late Saturday after veering some 15 kilometres outside the shipping lane.

"She is completely damaged on the port side," said Patrick Quirk, general manager of Maritime Safety Queensland.

"It is in danger of actually breaking a number of its main structures and breaking into a number of parts."

Quirk said while the situation was stabilising hour by hour "we are still very concerned about the ship".

The accident occurred within the southern zone of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the government is investigating why the ship strayed so far outside the shipping channel, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said.

"The vessel is in a restricted zone of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park -- these are zones that are off limits to shipping," she told reporters.

Maritime Safety Queensland said only small volumes of oil had been seen in the water in the vicinity of the ship and the spill was a "ribbon" of oil measuring approximately three kilometres by 100 metres.

"While the amount of oil is considered relatively small at this stage, it is a 'persistent' substance and expected to take some time to break apart," they said in a statement.

Authorities sprayed chemical dispersant on the slick Sunday and experts were assessing the vessel to see how it could be salvaged.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett said it was too early to say whether the spill would have a lasting impact on the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef -- one of Australia's biggest tourist attractions.

"We don't have advice at present as to whether the oil is going to threaten any part of the ecology of the reef," Garrett told ABC Radio.

"That's why we want to use a dispersant quickly by trialling to assess its effectiveness. Once we've evaluated its effectiveness, then it might be available for further use."

The owners of the 230-metre carrier, loaded with about 65,000 tonnes of coal and with 975 tonnes of heavy fuel oil on board, have engaged professional salvors to determine how to salvage the ship.

The incident follows a large oil spill from the container carrier Pacific Adventurer in March 2009, which polluted Moreton Island and Sunshine Coast beaches, and conservationists warned there will be more spills to come.

"We can be certain that this is a sign of things to come," said Capricorn Conservation Council spokesman Ian Herbert. "A year ago, Moreton Island, yesterday Great Keppel Island, next year -- who knows where?"

Queensland's ports will be the exit points for billions of dollars in coal and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exports over the coming decade, as new resources projects designed to meet Asia's energy needs are developed.

The Great Barrier Reef, which covers 345,000 square kilometres (133,000 square miles) along Australia's northeast coast and is celebrated as the world's largest living organism, is already facing the twin threats of climate change and toxic farm chemicals.

Yahoo.com: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100404...cidentshipping

Same Chinese shipping company and their national energy company were responsible for a major oil spill in the San Francisco Bay area a couple of years ago. Chinese Government has become a constant threat to the world, the environment, ecology and humanity. And they are not taking an inch of responsibility.

We are sick and tired of these irresponsible viscious acts and I condemn you Chinese Governement (not the Chinese people, they are just prisoners of this heartless, mindless system of government) ...And I don't even want to get into human rights violations, human rights and China, Hahahahaah...oximoron!! First Tibet, the Buddhist monks and kicking out His Holiness Dalai Lama from his own land and people, then the oppression on the Chinese moslems in the southern China, then the torture and oppression on her own people of Falung Gong Falung Dafa faith, China doesn't know how to respect humanity or haman feelings, forget about human rights. And now the world environment!! When and where are you going to stop???

Shame on you China and it's oppressive government. I feel truly bad for the Chinese people who are nothing but prisoners in this torturous oppression!!!

Shame on the U.S. government and World body for doing business with China and not pressing them on these issues! China must learn to treat this world and all her human beings/living beings with respect, period.

[auntu]

সস্তা চাইনিজ মাল, আরকি।

[bujhee kom]

You see Auntu bhaiya, what makes me very angry and frustrated toward the Beijing, Chinese government that they do not take responsibility and pretend like they do not understand human logic, rights, feelings and world community rules and laws just simply because it's spoken, we are speaking in English.

[Alien]

Originally Posted by bujhee kom
You see Auntu bhaiya, what makes me very angry and frustrated toward the Beijing, Chinese government that they do not take responsibility and pretend like they do not understand human logic, rights, feelings and world community rules and laws just simply because it's spoken, we are speaking in English.

Chinese never gave a **** about their own environment and last thing they care about is Barrier Reef. Take a look at pictures of Beijing, Shanghai, all you see is people wearing surgical masks in streets admist polluted background.

Its about time the world stops treating them like another America because one superpower is bad enough, let alone have another one especially a rogue state.

[Alien]

This news angered me like many others too. I went to Barrier Reef about 5-6 years ago and its really beautiful for scuba and snorkelling. Knowing Kevin Rudd, he will try to act tough given its election year, before bowing to his masters in Beijing.

[auntu]

Originally Posted by bujhee kom
You see Auntu bhaiya, what makes me very angry and frustrated toward the Beijing, Chinese government that they do not take responsibility and pretend like they do not understand human logic, rights, feelings and world community rules and laws just simply because it's spoken, we are speaking in English.

They have this attitude problem. It's very tough to make them understand while it's their fault.

[Nafi]

China is becoming ignorant due to their greed and rise of power

[Zeeshan]

Bochada your best bet is to get hold of Bulbul...

[FaHiMa]

YIKES!

Gulf Coast oil spill

VENICE, La. – An oil spill that threatened to eclipse even the Exxon Valdez disaster spread out of control and drifted inexorably toward the Gulf Coast on Thursday as fishermen rushed to scoop up shrimp and crews spread floating barriers around marshes.

The spill was both bigger and closer than imagined — five times larger than first estimated, with the leading edge just three miles from the Louisiana shore. Authorities said it could reach the Mississippi River delta by Thursday night.

"It is of grave concern," David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Associated Press. "I am frightened. This is a very, very big thing. And the efforts that are going to be required to do anything about it, especially if it continues on, are just mind-boggling."

The oil slick could become the nation's worst environmental disaster in decades, threatening hundreds of species of fish, birds and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast, one of the world's richest seafood grounds, teeming with shrimp, oysters and other marine life.

The leak from the ocean floor proved to be far bigger than initially reported, contributing to a growing sense among many in Louisiana that the government failed them again, just as it did during Hurricane Katrina. President Barack Obama dispatched Cabinet officials to deal with the crisis.

Cade Thomas, a fishing guide in Venice, worried that his livelihood will be destroyed. He said he did not know whether to blame the Coast Guard, the federal government or oil company BP PLC.

"They lied to us. They came out and said it was leaking 1,000 barrels when I think they knew it was more. And they weren't proactive," he said. "As soon as it blew up, they should have started wrapping it with booms."

The Coast Guard worked with BP, which operated the oil rig that exploded and sank last week, to deploy floating booms, skimmers and chemical dispersants, and set controlled fires to burn the oil off the water's surface.


the rest - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100429/..._rig_explosion

[bujhee kom]

^^This is a huge huge scare! A huge massive dissaster coming our way, this will hurt the coastal animals and plant life tremendously, a huge environmental disaster, yes, bigger than the Exon Valdez! A real worry now!

[FaHiMa]

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