Qld: Danger aground coal carrier will break apart on reef

AAP General News (Australia)
04-04-2010
Qld: Danger aground coal carrier will break apart on reef

Aircraft are spraying chemical dispersants on oil patches off the Queensland coast
.. after a Chinese cargo carrier ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef yesterday.

Queensland Premier ANNA BLIGH says the coal carrier hit the reef at full speed .. 15
kilometres outside the shipping lane and about 70 kilometres east of Great Keppel Island.

She says State Emergency Service crews and councils are on standby in case any oil
reaches land over the next couple of days .. most likely beaches in the Shoalwater Bay
National Park.

The premier says the badly damaged Shen Neng .. carrying 950 tonnes of heavy fuel oil
and 65 thousand tonnes of coal .. is in danger of breaking up.

Captain PATRICK QUIRK .. general manager of Maritime Safety Queensland .. says they're
seeking information about the impact the cargo could have on the reef environment should
the ship break up .. and he doesn't have an answer at the moment.

LARISSA WATERS .. a spokeswoman for the Queensland Greens .. says the state government's
been blinded by coal royalties and its short-sightedness will go down in history as killing
the reef.

AAP RTV stg/jmt

KEYWORD: CARRIER (BRISBANE)

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