Oil spill threatens Great Barrier Reef

A Chinese coal carrier is leaking oil in Australia's Great Barrier Reef area. Authorities say the vessel, which contains 975 tonnes of heavy oil fuel, is in danger of breaking up. The Shen Neng 1 ran aground on the Queensland coast late Saturday after veering 15 kilometres outside the shipping lane. 

Reuters

So far a strand of oil measuring 3km by 100m has been seen in the water.

The government is investigating why it strayed so far outside the shipping channel and the ship's owners have engaged salvage experts.

Conservation groups have criticised the Australian government's expansion of its coal mining industry, saying it increases the likelihood of incidents like this.

"This is exactly a year after another ship had ruptured oil tanks and spilt a large amount of oil just east of Brisbane," said Ian Herbert, the vice-president of Capricorn Conservation Council, a lobby group in central Queensland.

But Herbert told RFI that proper regulations would allay the dangers.

"The Queensland and Australian maritime authorities do not require a pilot to be on board these foreign registered ships. They only need a pilot at the very northern end of Queensland. From Gladstone all the way to Cairns, they are allowed to sail through Great Barrier Reef waters without a pilot."