Oil spill could be Queensland's worst environmental disaster

[kingwilly]

Oil spill could be Queensland's worst environmental disaster, says Premier Anna Bligh


Article from: AAP
By Angela Harper
March 13, 2009 09:33am



A MASSIVE oil spill of up to 100 tonnes that is blanketing the once pristine southeast Queensland coastline could be the state's worst environmental disaster, Premier Anna Bligh says.
Premier Anna Bligh has declared Moreton Island, Bribie Island and parts of the Sunshine Coast as disaster zones.

Ms Bligh said the amount of oil that had leaked was a lot more than the original 30-tonne estimate.

"It may well be the worst environmental disaster Queensland has ever seen," Premier Bligh said.

"We know that the ship was capable of carrying 100 tonnes so it could be anywhere between 30 and 100, but it is certainly significantly more than the 30."

A 20-strong national response team, manned by experts, had been activated to help deal with the massive oil spill from a cargo ship caught in cyclonic seas on Wednesday, she said.

Beaches are blanketed with oil from the Hong Kong flagged ship Pacific Adventure as a massive clean-up is underway.

The reason why the ship was out in cyclonic seas would be the subject of a full investigation, Ms Bligh said.

"If there is any grounds for prosecution of this ship and its owners we will not hesitate to take that action.

"We will also be pursuing them for compensation as this is going to be a very big clean-up cost and I want those ship owners to be paying for it."

The clean up is a delicate operation as beaches had already been eroded from the high tides after ex-tropical cyclone Hamish battered the coast over the past week.

Moreton Bay councillor Allan Sutherland, who has inspected the northern end of Bribie Island, told ABC Radio the oil had dispersed overnight thanks to high tides.

"A lot of the sand that has been pulled from the dunes with the high tides is helping disperse the oil so mother nature is on our side at the moment," he said.

The cargo ship also lost about 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate overboard.

The full extent of wildlife affected by the spill was yet to be realised, Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Clive Cook told ABC Radio.

"The flow-on effects of oil spills can be substantive," he said.

"The longer-term impacts are yet to be realised."

So far seven pelicans, one turtle and a few other birds had been found covered with oil, but there would be more to come, he said.

[slimboyfat]

100 tonnes is not a massive oil spill

[Mid]

Fri Mar 13, 4:12 AM ET


A conservation officer looks out over the oil spill on the beach on Moreton Island near Brisbane, Australia, Friday, March 13, 2009. Nearly 40 miles of Australian beaches have been blackened by oil spilled from a cargo ship caught in stormy seas this week, leading the state premier to declare the area a disaster zone and warn that the ship's operators could face legal action.
(AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)






Fri Mar 13, 4:07 AM ET


A worker attempts to clear the oil spill on the beach on Moreton Island near Brisbane, Australia, Friday, March 13, 2009. Nearly 40 miles of Australian beaches have been blackened by oil spilled from a cargo ship caught in stormy seas this week, leading the state premier to declare the area a disaster zone and warn that the ship's operators could face legal action.
(AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)



Fri Mar 13, 3:30 AM ET


Oil covers the beach is seen on Moreton Island near Brisbane, Australia, Friday, March 13, 2009. Nearly 40 miles of Australian beaches have been blackened by oil spilled from a cargo ship caught in stormy seas this week, leading the state premier to declare the area a disaster zone and warn that the ship's operators could face legal action.
(AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

[Rural Surin]

....massive enough.

[kingwilly]

Oil spill ship detained


Article from: AAP

March 13, 2009 06:34pm

THE cargo ship responsible for a massive oil leak near Brisbane has been detained, officials said today.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) CEO Graham Peachey says everything that can be done is being done to deal with the ``significant spill''.
"We have detained the ship, we (AMSA) have powers of detention, and it's not going anywhere until we release it," Mr Peachey said.
"We will be talking to the skipper and anyone involved in it and will be doing our own investigations, we have powers under our own act to do that and that is under way."
Under the legislation the ship's owners face the possibility of up to $2 million in fines and the skipper could have to pay up to $200,000.
They may also be liable for up to $250 million for environmental damage to the shoreline.
"Not a stone will be unturned on this inquiry, we will be looking at everything, what the captain did, what the ship did, what was going on, it will be a very, very thorough investigation by our people," Mr Peachey said.
The authority sent 20 personnel and a Dornier search and rescue plane to help with the clean-up and the search for 31 containers of ammonium nitrate lost overboard during Cyclone Hamish.
"I understand that the containers are in about 150 meters of water," he said.
"We deployed our Dornier to fly over them to see if there are any bobbing around, which there aren't, so we will be looking to find out were they are and take actions to remove them."
Mr Peachey seized on criticism regarding the failure of Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) to drop chemicals on to the slick which would have helped clear it up.
"I'm confident that what could have been done has been done," he said.
"As I said we have a long, long relationship with these guys (MSQ) and all they want to do is sort it out."
Meanwhile, Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett, due to play a second concert with his reunited band Midnight Oil tonight, was missing in action.
"The midnight oil has struck these beaches but the environmental leader's nowhere to be seen," Senator Brown said in Brisbane.
"This is a very serious environmental contamination, it should never have happened."
Senator Brown said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Mr Garrett should get to the scene.
"The Prime Minister's ultimately got the responsibility for bringing much faster and much more broad scale aid on to those beaches," he said.

[The Gentleman Scamp]

The full extent of wildlife affected by the spill was yet to be realised

Like they care anyway, all this environmental concern is self serving - people just want a nice environment to live in for themselves.

[blackgang]

Jesus Christ, I could piss more oil than 100 tons, Thats not enough bunkers to run a ship more than a day at most.
They really would shit a brick if someone some day dumps 100,000 tons.

[Mid]

any oil spill in that region is massive

[blackgang]

If that be the case I can see why they think owning 2 guns is a massive amount of guns.
When a super tanker unloads there is more oil than that hanging on the sides of the tanks when she is empty than that 100 tons.

[kingwilly]

Australia spill '10 times worse'



Advertisement

Footage of some of the areas affected by the spill

An oil spill along the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia is 10 times worse than originally thought, state authorities said.
A Hong Kong-registered ship damaged by a tropical storm on Wednesday leaked 230 tonnes of oil, not 20-30 tonnes as initially reported, officials said.
They warned that the toxic sludge is carcinogenic and threatening wildlife.
Dozens of beaches along a 60km stretch (37 mile) on the Sunshine Coast have been declared disaster zones.

See map showing the oil-affected areas
The crisis was sparked when high seas whipped up by Cyclone Hamish toppled 31 containers of ammonium nitrate fertiliser from the deck of the Pacific Adventurer.
As they fell, the containers punctured the hull and released the oil, also taking 620 tonnes of the chemical fertiliser to the ocean floor.
Election issue
The BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney says the environmental disaster has become a dominant issue ahead of a Queensland state election next weekend.
"This has been a debacle of extraordinary magnitude," conservative opposition leader Lawrence Springborg said of the government's response.
"A dozen people with buckets and shovels was never going to do it. The plan hadn't been activated. The government was caught short."
But Queensland's Premier Anna Bligh denied accusations that she had been too slow to react.
"These are beaches that have been battered by cyclonic activity and are severely eroded. You do not take heavy earth-moving equipment onto these beaches without first assessing them and having a clear plan of how you will proceed on the clean-up," she said.
Clean-up costs
The ship's owner, Swire Shipping, faces fines of up to A$1.5m ($977,000; £703,000) if found guilty of environmental breaches, as well as clean-up costs of A$100,000 a day.
"The company very much regrets the environmental impact caused as a consequence of the vessel being caught in Cyclone Hamish," it said in a statement.
"The company and its insurers will meet all their responsibilities."
Apart from the oil damage, experts fear the fertiliser could cause harmful algal blooms, suffocate fish and kill natural habitats.
Hundreds of people are working to clean the beaches and save affected wildlife.
Moreton Bay, a marine sanctuary worst hit by the oil spill, is home to a range of sea birds as well as turtles, dolphins and pelicans.