Navy finds spill containers off Qld

The navy has confirmed the location of 24 of the 31 containers lost from the Pacific
Adventurer during Cyclone Hamish.
The ship lost 31 containers of ammonium nitrate fertiliser overboard, which ruptured
its oil tanks and caused the leakage of 250 tonnes of fuel oil off Moreton Island,
near Brisbane.
The containers were identified by the navy's mine disposal vehicle on the seabed not
far from where the containers were reported lost on March 11.
Commander Dean Schopen, commander of the Australian Mine Warfare and Clearance
Diving Task Group, said video footage showed 24 containers were lying on the seabed
in groups of twos and threes and in varying condition.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has vowed to continue seeking compensation from Swire
Shipping, the owner of the Pacific Adventurer, for the devastating oil spill.
In a letter addressed to Governor Penelope Wensley and the premier, Swire Shipping
says it writes "to express our sincere regret to you, your government and all the
residents of, and visitors to, Queensland".
However, Ms Bligh told reporters the apology was not enough and stood as an
admission of the owner's responsibility.
"It's an important admission from them that this incident should not have occurred
and that they are responsible," she said.
"We will be continuing our action to pursue compensation."
A Sunshine Coast landowner has accused oil-spill clean-up workers of dumping toxic
waste on his vacant property.
Andrew Jeremijenko alleged contractors had trespassed on his land and dumped
contaminated sand from the nearby Currimundi Beach.
A Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) spokesman said every effort was made to identify
the owner of the site and the area would be fully rehabilitated.
Meanwhile, a commercial fishing captain's wife says her five children almost lost
their father when his boat became snagged on an object suspected to be one of the
seven containers still missing.
Darren Wills was fishing in his 16-metre trawler Rushaway six nautical miles
southeast of Cape Moreton, near where the navy minesweepers were identifying
containers.
His wife Deb Wills said the trawler became caught on a rectangular object and
righted itself only because a wire snapped.
"In my 14 years' experience, I've hooked up several times. It's a very, very
precarious situation," she said.
Deckhand Stefan Wainwright said the rectangular object was visible on sonar equipment.
"We fish this area regularly and it's never happened before. How many rectangular
rocks do you see lying on the seabed?" he said.
Ms Wills said the trawler lost more than $20,000 in equipment in the incident and
she and her husband would be seeking compensation if they could prove it was a
container they snagged on.
The navy has said the object was probably a rock and not one of the 31 containers.
Ms Wills said it was imperative for the fishing industry that all the containers
were recovered. However, a MSQ spokesman said it was unknown at this stage if that
would happen.