Ship aground near Great Barrier Reef
There are fears a coal ship that has ran aground near the Great Barrier Reef could break up, spilling not only fuel oil but also coal.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said the Chinese vessel Shen Neng 1, which ran aground on Douglas Shoal, on Saturday is “balanced precariously on the shoal and could break up.”
The ship is already estimated to have spilled three to four tons of oil.
Meanwhile the Sydney Morning Herald said environmentalists are unsure what the long-term effects of spilt coal particles entering ocean ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef would be. The ship is laden with 65,000 tons of coal and 950 tons of heavy fuel oil, the newspaper said.
Ship aground near Great Barrier Reef
