What happens when a ship lands on a coral reef?
|
Oil leaked into the ocean after the Chinese cargo ship Shen Neng 1 ran aground in a protected area of the Great Barrier Reef. The ship contains 65,000 tonnes of coal and could break apart if the weather worsens. Is this set to be one of Australia’s worst environmental disasters, or is it just another day’s work for the salvage workers? Crikey spoke to Master Mariner Richard Morris to find out. How much damage could this ship cause to the Barrier Reef? “Not a lot really, because it’s not an oil tanker. It will cause a little bit,” Morris said. If it were an oil tanker of the same size, it would be carrying more than 100,000 cubic metres of oil. Since it’s a coal tanker, the only oil on board is the oil used to fuel the ship. This is around 3,000 cubic metres, comparatively not that much, and it isn’t expected to all leak out. The main damage might come if the ship did break up. “I don’t think it will,” Morris said. “The salvage master, these guys are worth their weight in gold. They’ll get it off, you watch.” Dispersant was sprayed onto the oil slick to break it up. How does that work? It’s still bad for the environment, but when only a small amount of oil leaks out of a ship, it floats to the surface of the ocean and can be dispersed. The dispersant is like a detergent. It breaks down the oil, in a similar way to washing your hands, and dissolves it over time. It’s not clear how long it will take to dissolve, particularly since these ships commonly use the lowest grade of oil, heavy fuel oil, which is like sludge or tar. Did the ship veer off course or was it taking a shortcut? “I bet you they were taking a short cut and they just weren’t on the ball,” says Morris. “This is inexcusable, what’s happened.” Coal tankers, the equivalent of trucks, are the lowest level of ship operation with the lowest paid crew. A lot of these companies are based in Asia and try to operate as cheaply as possible. So the captain was under commercial pressure from his owner, and tried to save a little bit of fuel, which compromised the safety of the ship, the crew and the reef, Morris said. Authorities are saying fatigue could have played a part. Is this common? “There’s no excuse for fatigue,” Morris said. “Fatigue has to be managed.” The crew would include a captain as well as first, second and third officers, which means there’s time for sleep. This wasn’t a result of engine failure or a storm, Morris said, but “sheer negligence, most likely stemming from commercial pressures”. What do Australian authorities need to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again? It should be mandatory for all commercial ships over 50 metres long to have a pilot on board when they’re between the north of Fraser Island and Torres Strait, Morris said. They should be banned from that area if they don’t have a pilot. Or, they could be banned from going through the reef altogether, and could instead navigate away from the reef, east of Papua New Guinea. “Why should we allow big ships like this, that don’t have to be there, to be near the Barrier Reef?” Morris asked. “We’re risking our heritage, which is irreplaceable.” How is the ship being removed from the reef? A salvage company has arrived on the site with tugs and equipment. They’ll make an assessment to see if they can block the holes in the ship with concrete so that it will be able to float again. They will also use a barge with a crane to take some coal out of the ship and make it lighter. The concern is that a storm may come while the barge is being filled, which could cause it to hit the rocks. |
|
|
|
10 Comments
“Why should we allow big ships like this, that don’t have to be there, to be near the Barrier Reef?” Morris asked. Get an atlas Mr Master Mariner Morris. Coal carriers load up near Gladstone in central Queensland. They have to pass through the Great Barrier Reef to get to the port.
A ship carrying coal (carbon intense) smashing into the GB Reef (likely to be killed by global warming) is a poetic message of warning.
So what does Australia want to do? Burn the world with Global warming (coal) exports? Or do we still want an unbleached, un-smashed Reef and tourism industry?
This didn’t really clarify anything for me.
One source’s opinions is just adding to the noise.
The solution to this problem is so simple it has escaped both the bureaucrats and politicians.
We should mandate that a transponder be fitted to each ship operating in Australian territorial waters, in designated high-risk zones, and that an appropriate authority track the course of each ship according to an agreed transit plan, the virtual equivalent of an aircraft flight plan. These transponders would emit a radio signal similar to that of aircraft indicating the position of the ship concerned real-time. I understand that these transponders already exist and are used for tracking ships in areas frequented by pirates.
Using satellite and GPS technology the position of these ships relative to their planned course can be tracked and immediate feedback provided to the ship concerned if it strays off course. This would also mitigate against taking shortcuts through dangerous Barrier Reef waters, and would probably obviate the need for maritime pilots under many conditions. Significant penalties could be applied to departures from the agreed course.
@Greg
Exactly!
However the ship does already have a transponder on it.
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/faq.aspx
You can see the track of most marine vessels - but only while they are in port or within the (short) range of one of the base stations that records the movements of these ships.
I think you need to do some more research into dispersants, as I know there are grave concerns about their toxicology and their use anywhere near coral reefs.
The dispersants make the oil sink down through the water column and settle on the bottom - not a bad idea if you’re in really deep water and don’t want the oil to wash up onto a beach or an exposed reef … not a good idea if you’re in a fragile environment dealing with a spill that might have evaporated and weathered over time.
There were reports last week of reef scientists raising concerns that the impacts of the dispersants over time might be much greater than that of just the oil in this case.
I know that this is also a question for the Montara inquiry… and some conservationists are concerned that dispersants are being used as a PR strategy (make the oil slikc dissappear) rather than a harm minimisation strategy (to reduce environmental impacts)
Other reports say the captain was taking a well known route and he had lodged details of his planned route with the port authority before setting sail. Not quite the Rudd spin and nowhere near as much fun.
I didn’t see the same level of gummnt outrage when an oil rig in WA popped its cork and spewed oil for weeks. Nor is there any pollie getting hot and bothered about ag and vet chemical run-off or the effects of New Guinea gold mining which are major threats to the reef.
And what a happy coincidence for our gumnt that the boat that ran into our national icon not only had a chink name but was owned by those evil chinks as well. Go the dog whistle
SBH, which “other reports” and can you quote exactly from them? If not then think very carefully about what you have just written. It can’t be possible that a “well known route”, a “planned route” lodged with the port authority before setting sail, included driving straight into a well known, marked-on-the-chart reef. Perhaps the captain was busy taking sextant readings - you could ask him?
No matter how hard you spin it, the ship cocked up and the gummnt, gumnt (whatever!) is handed a free spin in whatever direction it likes, because we will pay before anyone else does.
SBH makes a good point about the Oil Rig disaster in WA. People are only outraged when it appears to effect them personally or things they hold dear.
A ship crashing into the Reef in southern QLD causes political and media stir. Damaging to be sure but impact isolated and quickly recoverable.
However a coal carrier safely traversing the reef but bound for China smelters or power-plants to burn up the biosphere and plunge our civilization into a runaway climate change- little to fear apparently…
Charlie, not an academic ref but easy to find if you keep an open mind and you are interested in facts not Rudd Brown spin. Very interesting diagram that makes the Rudd spin look a bit silly.
google ‘shen neng’ and go to the sixth result a courier mail story “Barrier Reef shortcut taken by Shen Neng 1 not illegal “. putting a link in draws the moderator daemon out.
No spin by the way re the collision. something went wrong. the sailed straight ahead when they should have turned to starboard. The ship was off course but by how much is conjecture. It seems to be an error of seamanship and navigation rather than a deliberate attempt to breach any rules or laws.