Any guesses how long before Australia issues an apology to China?

squirell nutkin • Apr 5, 2010 12:17 pm
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/asia/la-fg-australia-reef5-2010apr05,0,3324015.story?track=rss

LA Times wrote:
Great Barrier Reef rammed by Chinese coal ship
Australian officials are attempting to minimize the effect that oil leaking from the vessel might have on the world's largest coral reef.


It's only a matter of time before either Australia or The Great Barrier Reef will have to eat a lump of crow and apologize to China for their carelessness in leaving a reef around where someone might ram into it.

That is unless the Australians don't buy nearly everything they own from China.

Let's watch and see what happens.
LA Times wrote:
The Shen Neng 1, hauling more than 65,000 tons of coal, hit the reef at full speed late Saturday in a restricted zone of the marine park. The impact ruptured the vessel's fuel tanks, prompting Australian officials to activate a national oil spill response plan.
bold mine
China: I'm not sorry about ur reef
SamIam • Apr 5, 2010 1:28 pm
China: I'm not sorry about anything. Up yours, including your stupid reef which we are suing you for having in our way. :eyebrow:
DanaC • Apr 5, 2010 1:42 pm
All ur reef are belong to us!
Sheldonrs • Apr 5, 2010 3:10 pm
It's reef-er madness, i tells ya!
tw • Apr 5, 2010 8:45 pm
According to a Chinese immigrant in my neighborhood, reefs are everywhere. Lock your doors.
Shawnee123 • Apr 5, 2010 8:47 pm
Knock knock

Who is it?

Land Reef. Candygram.
squirell nutkin • Apr 6, 2010 6:05 pm
Notice how all our OZ dwellars are silent?
lumberjim • Apr 6, 2010 6:17 pm
i'M CALLING TO PO REEFS

AND TEH AMBILAMPS!
Aliantha • Apr 6, 2010 6:45 pm
squirell nutkin;646424 wrote:
Notice how all our OZ dwellars are silent?


Well considering the thread was started at 2am in the morning, it's not surprising really.

This could turn out to be a huge disaster. The second one in a year in fact although the previous one was thanks to a cyclone rather than a reef.

Apparently the captain of the ship was attempting to take a shorcut around the shipping channels and now he and everyone involved are paying for it. If the ship breaks up, the results could be devastating for the fishing industry as well as tourism.
xoxoxoBruce • Apr 6, 2010 6:57 pm
The coal shouldn't be a problem, should it? Just the fuel (bunker) oil from the ships fuel tanks.
Aliantha • Apr 6, 2010 7:26 pm
The knowledge we have suggests the oil will cause more damage, but thousands of tonnes of coal in the reef environment is an unknown quantity at this point in time. It's never happened before in scientific history, so there are only theories so far. It is likely, should the ship break up before it can be salvaged, that there will be significant damage caused by the coal. Unfortunately no-one knows for sure though. My guess is that it would depend on an incoming or outgoing tide for starters.

Dazza would obviously know a lot more about this subject than I do though, and if you're interested, I'll ask him and let you know what he says.
xoxoxoBruce • Apr 6, 2010 7:38 pm
Yes, I would. I thought it hit the reef, then moved off over deeper water, while spewing oil. I didn't know it could/would dump it's coal cargo on the reef. I'd assume that would not be good. I was wondering if the coal was dumped off the reef, would it poison the water for the fish?
Aliantha • Apr 6, 2010 8:25 pm
Dazza says:When the coal lands on top of them a whole lot will die. But it is only in a small area relative to available habitat. The coal plume may travel a fair way though.

The coal will smoother what is there, but coal is inert so the reef and the deeper water will recover over time. The effects would be different if it were a toxicant or something that was biologically active (e.g. fertiliser).
squirell nutkin • Apr 6, 2010 8:36 pm
Apparently the oil is more like a sludge, than #2 oil.
Aliantha • Apr 6, 2010 8:41 pm
Yeah it's terrible. Did you see the pictures of the spill on Moreton island last year? Of course we've all seen the devastation from the exon valdez spill many years ago.

It's thick and sticky and it doesn't come off easily. The Moreton Island spill caused a huge amount of damage to fisheries.
xoxoxoBruce • Apr 6, 2010 11:19 pm
Bunker oil is one step above tar.
TheMercenary • Apr 7, 2010 12:09 am
xoxoxoBruce;646536 wrote:
Bunker oil is one step above tar.


I need to educate myself about those differences.
xoxoxoBruce • Apr 7, 2010 12:46 am
Not unless you plan on buying a ship, or a huge commercial boiler. Us normal people would never have use for that stuff. :haha:
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