Australian aircraft on Sunday spotted oil leaking into waters around the Great Barrier Reef after a Chinese-registered bulk coal carrier ran aground, government officials said. The 230-metre (754-ft) Shen Neng I was on its way to China when it ran aground on a shoal on Saturday. It had 950 tonnes of oil on board and officials said patches of oil had been spotted in the water, but no major leak.
"Early morning flights over the carrier show a small number of oil patches about two nautical miles south-east from the ship. To date there has been no major loss of oil from the ship," Queensland's state government said in a statement.
Aircraft were due to spray chemical dispersant over the area later in the day and a salvage assessment will be made. The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia's major tourist attractions and is considered to be highly vulnerable to damage from pollution. The ship was located 70 km (43 miles) east of Great Keppel Island, offshore from the city of Rockhampton. The China-bound ship was carrying 65,000 tonnes of coal from the Queensland port of Gladstone. It is thought unlikely that it can be moved without salvage assistance. Last year, an oil spill during a storm polluted large stretches of Queensland beaches and led to a protracted legal dispute between the state government and the ship's owners, Swire Shipping, about the cleanup bill.
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