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Australian oil spill blackens beaches
Sydney (AFP) March 12, 2009 Beaches along Australia's northeast coast were blackened Thursday by a toxic cocktail of oil and fertiliser spilled from a cargo ship in cyclonic weather, maritime officials said. Large slicks of oil were washing up on the shores of Moreton Island and on beaches along the Sunshine Coast, after 31 containers of ammonium nitrate toppled from the Pacific Adventurer in wild seas early Wednesday. As the cargo fell in huge swells caused by tropical cyclone Hamish, it punctured the ship's hull, releasing 30 tonnes of oil into Moreton Bay, near Queensland's state capital Brisbane. A slick 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) long and two metres (6.6 feet) wide was washing onto popular tourist beaches as the maritime safety authority launched an investigation into what it said was the state's worst spill in 30 years. "Australia, through international conventions, can take certain actions against the master and the company," said the authority's John Watkinson. "We can also fine the ship. We have oil in the water, we have pollution (and) it's not meant to happen, it shouldn't happen," he added. The ship's owner, Hong Kong-based conglomerate Swire, faces fines up to 1.5 million dollars (977,000 US dollars) if found guilty of environmental breaches, as well as clean-up costs estimated at 100,000 dollars a day. "The full cost of this will be met where the ship's insurers pick up the cost," said Transport Minister John Mickel. Watkinson said it would take more than a week to clean up the spill, with trucks and excavators removing contaminated sand from the beaches. "(The oil) is quite heavy in some spots -- I've just been down there for a walk myself and have come back and it's caked all over over my thongs (flip-flops) and all over my feet," said Marcoola beach lifeguard David McLean. "As you walk along it sticks to the bottom of your shoe like glue." Experts fear the fertiliser, a nutrient-rich chemical, could cause damaging algal blooms, suffocate fish and kill natural habitats. Moreton Bay, a marine sanctuary, is home to a range of sea birds and creatures, including turtles, dolphins and pelicans. The Environmental Protection Authority said it had begun clean-up operations and was treating oil-affected wildlife. "We've had one confirmed report of a sea bird with oil on it and two others unconfirmed, so we are prepared for the contingency of treating oiled wildlife," an EPA spokesman said. Officials defended their delay in inspecting the spill, saying heavy weather had hampered earlier efforts, and there were safety concerns about the fuel mixing with the fertiliser, which can be used to make explosives. Aircraft equipped with radar equipment have been deployed to search for the missing containers, which are believed to have sunk to the ocean floor. While the fertiliser was likely to seep from the containers, the EPA said it would be diluted enough to prevent major environmental problems. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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