ID :
116678
Thu, 04/15/2010 - 07:20
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/116678
The shortlink copeid
Police charge two Shen Neng 1 crew
Two senior crew members of the Chinese coal carrier that ran aground on the Great
Barrier Reef over Easter have been arrested.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said it would be alleged in Queensland's
Gladstone Court on Thursday that the Chinese men were the master and chief
officer-on-watch of the Shen Neng 1.
The ship's master, a 47-year-old man, has been charged with liability for a vessel
which caused damage in the marine park, an offence carrying a maximum $55,000 fine.
A 44-year-old man has been charged with being the person in charge of a vessel which
caused damage within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
That offence carries a maximum penalty of three years jail and a $220,000 fine.
The arrests were the result of a criminal investigation that began after the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority referred the matter to the AFP two days after the
vessel ran aground on Douglas Shoal, off Rockhampton, on April 3.
Investigations showed that the Shen Neng 1 failed to turn at the waypoint - where a
ship is meant to change course - it was meant to.
The AFP said its officers, assisted by marine park and Australian Maritime Safety
Authority officials, executed a search warrant on the vessel on Wednesday.
Marine scientists say the reef around Douglas Shoal will take at least 20 years to
recover, after the grounding gouged a channel about three kilometres long and 250
metres wide.
The grounding is believed to have pulverised a large portion of plant and animal
life living on the shoal but further investigations are under way.
Oil believed to have come from the ship has washed up on two islands, including an
important turtle and seabird rookery.
Up to four tonnes of heavy fuel oil was leaking into the sea when the ship ran aground.
A Maritime Safety Queensland spokesman said clean-up crews have removed by hand
about five bags full of oil globules and sand from North West Island and about five
litres from Tyron Island on Wednesday.
He said the clean-up was close to complete but Queensland Parks and Wildlife
officers would carry out shoreline patrols on all outcrops and islands in the area
as the tides ebb and flow to see if any more oil was washed up.
So far there is no evidence of any animals having been harmed by the oil spill.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has dispatched a team of marine
scientists on one of its research vessels to determine the full scale of the
physical damage.
They will also determine how much toxic anti-fouling paint has scraped off the hull
of the vessel and become embedded in the reef.
The investigation is expected to start on Thursday.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will release a preliminary report into the
grounding on Thursday morning.
Barrier Reef over Easter have been arrested.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said it would be alleged in Queensland's
Gladstone Court on Thursday that the Chinese men were the master and chief
officer-on-watch of the Shen Neng 1.
The ship's master, a 47-year-old man, has been charged with liability for a vessel
which caused damage in the marine park, an offence carrying a maximum $55,000 fine.
A 44-year-old man has been charged with being the person in charge of a vessel which
caused damage within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
That offence carries a maximum penalty of three years jail and a $220,000 fine.
The arrests were the result of a criminal investigation that began after the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority referred the matter to the AFP two days after the
vessel ran aground on Douglas Shoal, off Rockhampton, on April 3.
Investigations showed that the Shen Neng 1 failed to turn at the waypoint - where a
ship is meant to change course - it was meant to.
The AFP said its officers, assisted by marine park and Australian Maritime Safety
Authority officials, executed a search warrant on the vessel on Wednesday.
Marine scientists say the reef around Douglas Shoal will take at least 20 years to
recover, after the grounding gouged a channel about three kilometres long and 250
metres wide.
The grounding is believed to have pulverised a large portion of plant and animal
life living on the shoal but further investigations are under way.
Oil believed to have come from the ship has washed up on two islands, including an
important turtle and seabird rookery.
Up to four tonnes of heavy fuel oil was leaking into the sea when the ship ran aground.
A Maritime Safety Queensland spokesman said clean-up crews have removed by hand
about five bags full of oil globules and sand from North West Island and about five
litres from Tyron Island on Wednesday.
He said the clean-up was close to complete but Queensland Parks and Wildlife
officers would carry out shoreline patrols on all outcrops and islands in the area
as the tides ebb and flow to see if any more oil was washed up.
So far there is no evidence of any animals having been harmed by the oil spill.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has dispatched a team of marine
scientists on one of its research vessels to determine the full scale of the
physical damage.
They will also determine how much toxic anti-fouling paint has scraped off the hull
of the vessel and become embedded in the reef.
The investigation is expected to start on Thursday.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will release a preliminary report into the
grounding on Thursday morning.
