Energy

Chinese-registered coal carrier runs aground off Australian coast

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-05 09:59

CANBERRA - A Chinese-registered bulk coal carrier Shen Neng 1 ran aground on a reef Saturday night, about 70 kilometers east of Great Keppel Island off the Queensland coast, Australian Associated Press reported Sunday.

Aircraft are flying over the 230-meter-long bulk carrier aground in the Great Barrier Reef to determine the extent of an oil spill from the vessel.

The vessel, which was carrying about 65,000 tons of coal from Gladstone, has 950 tons of oil on board. An unknown amount of oil has leaked in the water and a national oil spill response plan has been activated.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has airlifted a surveyor onto the vessel to carry out a damage assessment. Maritime Safety Queensland says it has approached the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority seeking permission to use aerial dispersants on the oil leak, and a dispersant-spraying aircraft is on standby in Rockhampton.

The incident immediately sparks fears of environmental damage of the Great Barrier Reef from the oil spill.