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Grounded Chinese coal carrier start pump out oil

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-09 17:04

BRISBANE, Australia - The Australian salvage crews started pumping 950 tons of heavy oil on Friday from the Chinese coal ship which ran aground off the Queensland sea last Saturday.

The fuel was being pumped onto a 50 meter barge, which can carry up to 1,500 tons of oil and the process was running smoothly, Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) general manager Patrick Quirk said.

But he did not know how long it would take to pump out all the oil from the ship which belongs to China's Shen Zhen Energy Transport Company.

"This is a delicate operation that will take days, not hours," he said, adding that "Today will give us a good indication of the rate of flow that can be achieved but we're not going to rush into this operation."

The 230 meter-long Shen Neng 1 was carrying 65,000 tons of coal from Queensland to China and ran aground on Douglas Shoal off the Rockhampton coast last Saturday evening. About two tons of fuel oil leaked out of the ship last Saturday but the leakage was quickly under control.

Shenzhen Energy Transport's chief of shipping and development Hu Wei said in the statement the company wanted to see the matter resolved as soon as possible.

"We are fully committed to cooperating with and assisting the authorities to minimize any environmental damage and to ensure the matter is resolved safely and quickly," the statement added.