A stranded Chinese bulk coal carrier leaking oil into the sea around Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in danger of breaking up and damaging the reef.
The Shen Neng I was on its way to China when it ran aground on a shoal yesterday. It had 950 tonnes of oil on board and officials said patches of oil had been spotted in the water early today, but no major leak.
Premier of Queensland state Anna Bligh said the ship was in a poor state, and posed a danger to the reef.
Aircraft overflew the vessel, taking photographs and dispersant was to be sprayed later in the day.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia's major tourist attractions and is considered to be highly vulnerable to damage from pollution.
Environmentalists have criticised regulations which do not require a special pilot to guide ships through the channels in the area. They warned that communities of coral only recently studied by science could be destroyed by a major oil leak.
The China-bound ship was carrying 65,000 tonnes of coal from the Queensland port of Gladstone. It was located 70km east of Great Keppel Island, offshore from the city of Rockhampton.
A spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Agency said a salvage company, Svitzer, had been employed by the ship's owners and would be on board the vessel later to carry out a salvage assessment.
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.
