Container Spill Off Moreton Island

[AFO]

** This thread discusses the content article: Container Spill Off Moreton Island **

Urgent notice to all offshore anglers, boaties and sailers and greenies!

Attached is the latest Queensland Notice to Mariners from Maritime Safety Queensland regarding the shipping containers lost overboard in rough seas off Cape Moreton, Moreton Island.

I have followed this incident closely and am a little dismayed at the press release comments from the relevant government departments. The incident occurred on Wednesday 11th March 2009.  31 Shipping containers, holding some 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were lost overboard from the Pacific Adventurer in heavy seas as a result of Cyclone Hamish approx seven nautical miles east of Cape Moreton at about 3.15 am (AEST)

Up to 30 tonnes of oil also leaked from the 180-metre vessel when it was damaged by a falling container, creating a slick reported to cover an estimated 10 kilometres. I am amazed that with all the EPA’s rhetoric about saving the bay, Government and authorities are quoted as saying the following on Ninemsn.com.au "Oil is a natural resource, it just breaks up naturally under weather, including the sun and water," he said. I would dearly love to see our industry get away with making such a blasé, ill informed comment!

A Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) spokesman on Thursday morning said more than 50 people were scattered around beaches on Moreton Island, where they are cleaning up oil, and Bribie Island and Caloundra, where they are checking for oil pollution. This comment was taken from the Nine news bulletin, wouldn’t you think if they were cleaning up an oil slick that they wouldn’t be checking for oil pollution as it has actually happened? This incident is being handled poorly and from what I read I don’t think one department is really is really talking to the other?

And again just as if to dismiss the incident the EPA incident response adviser Mike Short had this to say as well “But the ammonium nitrate should dilute enough so as not to cause any major problems other than algal blooms†Well Mike I hope our industry remembers your departments approach to this matter when we next go head to head over more bay closures based on anglers destroying the environment and hopefully your department can be just as flippant!

Marine expert Mike Kingsford, from James Cook University, said the threats posed by the ammonium nitrate included algal blooms, burns and deaths to fish and seagrass, and physical damage to the ocean floor from the containers. If it was our boating industry that had a major incident like this we would be crucified.

Although MSQ, the Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland Parks and Wildlife and Brisbane and Sunshine Coast Councils seem to be involved I think more information as to the ramifications of the incident should be reported. Let’s see what the next few days of reporting brings and hope that the containers are proven to have sunk. Also have the relevant department put our a notice to anglers if there is concern for peoples health in relation to fish that have been in contact with chemicals.

A concerned,

Matthew Hodson

John Crawford Marine

See more photos and videos at http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25170249-952,00.html

[yoyo]

"it just breaks up naturally....dun worry 'bout it..."

Hey isnt that what the captain of the exxon valdez said as well..........?

[wallyfly]

I wish I was still a member of the Marine Board of Queensland ,as it was before Goss and co disbanded it, I'd have been kicking a few asses by now. What a sloppy operation... obviously no proper planning for such an incident as this. Took a TV chopper to report the matter...Where was the SES chopper..Toting her ladyship around or some such useless purpose. We can go on and on so let's do the appropriate thing on the 21st and get rid of the clowns who currently pull the strings::ohmy:

[viperon1982]

Hey we AFOers should consider organising a day to help with the cleanup?

[John]

Matthew over at John Crawford Marine has followed up his article on the homepage, with this email.

as I was dismayed at the EPA’s and Labor’s response to this incredible disaster. JCM’s customers judging by the comments already coming back are also concerned. The environmental ramifications are huge when you consider the rocky outcrops around Cape Moreton, Coolum Rock, Flinders Reef and not to forget the beaches etc. The shore animals, birds, fish, rock based mollusc and crustaceans. Anna Bligh is ducking and weaving around this issue because of the election next Saturday.

Although it’s sad to take advantage of this issue LNP and Marine Queensland should have no problems in getting air time and we should be starting the process of building a relationship with LNP. I can’t see why Lawrence Springborg and his team won’t join in with us on this dreadful incident and chase some answers.

Especially now that it has been announced that the Greens are aligning with Labor again.

FOR JUST A MOMENT IMAGE WHAT WOULD THE EPA DO TO OUR INDUSTRY IF IT WAS A 45 CRUISER THAT SANK AND SPILLED 5000 L OF DIESEL INTO THE BAY????? THE EPA WOULD CRUCIFY US THROUGH THE MEDIA AND POLICY CHANGE!

Please show your support on this horrible situation and disaster and email a brief comment to your local member as to why your business and your customers are so concerned about the flippant comments from EPA and the lack of leadership they are showing regarding this issue.

So get everyone to email their local members and pressure them to realise that this a BIG ISSUE

Some useful emails are:

leader@opposition.qld.gov.au

kepa.andrews@lnp.org.au

michael.odwyer@lnp.org.au

campaign@lnp.org.au

and also for all email addresses for all Members of Parliament (all parties)
/>http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/legislativeAssembly/members.asp?area=members&LIndex=1&Subarea=members

[obone]

I honestly can't believe that in 2009 in Australia, they don't have appropriate response measures for a disaster such as this. Was it so unbelievable/unforeseeable that something like this might happen around here? Was their nothing learnt from the oil spills in Gladstone and other places around the world? The EPA just blatantly has their proprieties wrong in my opinion, and seemingly (to me anyway) have more interest in political back scratching than protecting the environment.

From the EPA website:

“The EPA is working with Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) and other government agencies and organisations to manage this incident.â€

Rather than “working with,†it certainly seems like there is plenty of buck passing going on. The LNP say the ALP should have got onto it faster, Bob Brown said . . . . very little, other than the fact that the Federal government should have done something by now. Anna Bligh is trying to squirm around it. And have the shipping company said anything?

Apparenlty now as well, there is just an incredible amount of oil around Heath Island and in the surrounding waterways (MNP06 green zone :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: ). For those who know this area, it’s a pretty devastating thing to happen there. I reckon it’s one of the best and certainly most pristine parts of Moreton, amazing flora and fauna (well, there was). It will be far harder for this area to recover than any ocean beach stretch that’s been being shown on the news. And all that Honeymoon Bay area, right round to the lighthouse . . . well we've all seen the news. The rangers on Moreton of course, will be prioritising their efforts in this situation, by making sure there are no 4WD going around without permits, or dogs without the right tags and paperwork.

That’s my rant, sorry!

Joel

[DG89]

Good rant mate, lets jsut hope the oil doesn't touch the beautiful cowan beach fronts.

[skipcaptain]

Hi all, Ive been a member here for a while but this is only my second post.

Ive worked in the shipping industry and now I coincidentally work with ammonium nitrate for a competitor to the company who owned this particular shipment.

I know the Port of Brisbane Corp has response measures for spills which happen in the river, as with the booms placed around this ship after it berthed...not that they seemed to do much in this case. Open ocean oil spills though are just impossible to contain. If you could get a boom to the ship (which they couldnt due to the waves) the oil would get washed over anyway. Disbursant can only really be used on flat ocean or when the oil is on shore. Rough weather and heavy wave action is actually the best thing to happen to an off shore oil spill.

My gripe is that knowing this, the government should have been able to work out where the oil would end up and have the teams waiting to attack it straight away. It seems the media knew more about where the oil was than the government did.

In my time I have known a couple of oil spills in the river which were contained fairly well. I know of one occasion they used a disbursant which was sprinked over the oil slick (on the rocks at Pinkenba actually) which very quickly broke down the fuel oil into a biodegradable form which the marine life actually fed on. I havent heard of the product for over 10 years and have always wondered why it wasnt used everywhere. Cost is the only thing I can think of.

Oh, and I personally think the ship wasnt carrying enough ballast for the weather conditions. I think thats why the weather generated enough force to knock the containers over the side. The Courier Mail said it only rolled 25 degrees either side. Having personally been on a merchant ship rolling safely though 42 degrees either side I cant understand how it lost the boxes at all unless they werent fully lashed down, or the ship was too high in the water.

SC

[Terry H]

Premier Anna Bligh yesterday defended the time it has taken to start the clean-up: "I can understand people think it's a good idea to get out there from day one and start cleaning up, but the reality is we still have oil coming on to the beach.

"You don't take it off the beach until you know it's all there otherwise we are stripping layers of sand that have already been eroded by cyclonic activities."

I personally think she has a point here.

Those who have been to moreton would understand this. the fullmoon/newmoon high tides can be massive and go all th eway to the dunes. Combined with some increased swell from cyclonic conditions and there could be seriously erosion.

I don't know, maybe I just bought their reasoning as for why the clean up from the beaches started so 'late' and obviously as mentioned, booms weren't really an option due to weather.

Maybe the ship lying to the government (if it is deemed they were lying!) is part of the problem as to why the government appeared so sluggish. Then again, maybe due to the conditions, they couldn't do anything anyway.

But I fully agree with sending Swire Shipping a rather large bill. Particularly for cleanup costs, and for tourism.

[noname]

he might have had the right ballast in the hull to start with, but with loosing cargo all the way from newcastle to brisbane, he should have reacessed it. who knows, whats done is done.