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nautilus
Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!
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 Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 2:38 am Post subject: Chinese Tanker threatens megaspill on Great Barrier reef |
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unbelievable. Some Chinese tanker decides to veer 20km outside its lane and runs aground on the reef. How utterly Clueless.
If it breaks up any more one of the world's showpiece ecosystems stands to be trashed....
Stranded ship "time bomb" to Great Barrier Reef
SYDNEY (Reuters) � A stranded Chinese coal ship leaking oil onto Australia's Great Barrier Reef is an environmental time bomb with the potential to devastate large protected areas of the reef, activists said on Monday.
The ship was a "ticking environmental time bomb," Gilly Llewellyn, director of conservation for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Australia, told Reuters.
She said this was the third major international incident involving its owners in four years.
Australian government officials say the stricken Shen Neng I belongs to the Shenzhen Energy Group, a subsidiary of China's state-owned China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, better known by its acronym COSCO.
In 2007, COSCO was linked to a major oil spill in San Francisco bay, while last year it was tied to another in Norway, both of which damaged environmentally sensitive areas.
"We are seeing a concerning pattern potentially associated with this company," Llewellyn told Reuters.
COSCO officials in Australia could not be contacted for comment on Monday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100405/ts_nm/us_australia_ship |
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visitorq
Joined: 11 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 12:00 pm Post subject: Re: Chinese Tanker threatens megaspill on Great Barrier reef |
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| nautilus wrote: |
unbelievable. Some Chinese tanker decides to veer 20km outside its lane and runs aground on the reef. How utterly Clueless.
If it breaks up any more one of the world's showpiece ecosystems stands to be trashed.... |
Except that the Great Barrier Reef extends for over 2000 km, so at the very worst only a small potion of it stands to be effected (if the oil spill even reaches it at all)...
Not defending the Chinese ship's negligence, just letting you know you can sleep soundly knowing this is pretty far from being an environmental "disaster"... |
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bossam
Joined: 29 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Still, it cannot be a good thing. If you have ever been there you wouldn't say that. And yes you can call me a hippy. |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:28 pm Post subject: |
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The Reef is underwater. Oil floats on top of water. I would assume at the reefs themselves would still be ok. As for the wildlife that depend the water's surface (birds, sea mammals, etc...), I would think that would be a big mess.
An experiment would be pouring engine oil into a Salt water fish tank. Anyone know a salt water tank we can try it on? |
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mmstyle
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: wherever
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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| pkang, the reef is part an ecosystem, so affecting the surface affects the reef. The parts of the reef that people often visit are very close to the surface and would be affected fairly easily, I would think. This sucks. It's bad enough that it is dying already. I agree with the bossam. I've been to part of it, and it is AMAZING. |
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AsiaESLbound
Joined: 07 Jan 2010
Location: Truck Stop Missouri
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
The Reef is underwater. Oil floats on top of water. I would assume at the reefs themselves would still be ok. As for the wildlife that depend the water's surface (birds, sea mammals, etc...), I would think that would be a big mess.
An experiment would be pouring engine oil into a Salt water fish tank. Anyone know a salt water tank we can try it on? |
Ha ha, very funny. Yes, I see lots of salt water tanks around town you can just walk up to off the street though I'm not sure of the legal ramifications of pouring motor oil into someone's fish tank. LOL. |
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Summer Wine
Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Location: Next to a River
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| Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 4:34 am Post subject: |
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Find out how long the Australian Mining Exec. was sentenced to jail for and then double it for the entire crew of this boat.
If China complains then tell them whats good for the goose is good for the gander. |
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nautilus
Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!
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| Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:28 am Post subject: Re: Chinese Tanker threatens megaspill on Great Barrier reef |
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| visitorq wrote: |
Except that the Great Barrier Reef extends for over 2000 km, so at the very worst only a small potion of it stands to be effected (if the oil spill even reaches it at all)...
Not defending the Chinese ship's negligence, just letting you know you can sleep soundly knowing this is pretty far from being an environmental "disaster"... |
Sure the reef extends 2000km. But oil spreads quickly. The Exxon spill covered 3400 square km of ocean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill
I didn't say it was an environmental disaster. I said it was threatening to become one.
Obviously yes you don't care about it but maybe it'd be different if you had a tourism, liesure sports, diving or fisheries industry in that area. |
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visitorq
Joined: 11 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:28 am Post subject: Re: Chinese Tanker threatens megaspill on Great Barrier reef |
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| nautilus wrote: |
| visitorq wrote: |
Except that the Great Barrier Reef extends for over 2000 km, so at the very worst only a small potion of it stands to be effected (if the oil spill even reaches it at all)...
Not defending the Chinese ship's negligence, just letting you know you can sleep soundly knowing this is pretty far from being an environmental "disaster"... |
Sure the reef extends 2000km. But oil spreads quickly. The Exxon spill covered 3400 square km of ocean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill
I didn't say it was an environmental disaster. I said it was threatening to become one.
Obviously yes you don't care about it but maybe it'd be different if you had a tourism, liesure sports, diving or fisheries industry in that area. |
If you'd taken even a few seconds to think before you post, you'd have realized that the Exxon spill was about 35 times bigger than this one (assuming this tanker even spills all its oil). Moreover 3400 square km is a very small area compared to the great barrier reef (which comprises around 350,000 square km).
This isn't about my 'caring' or not, or having an agenda etc. - it's about simple common sense. There is no way this event could ever remotely be considered an environmental 'disaster'. |
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nautilus
Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!
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| Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 3:38 am Post subject: Re: Chinese Tanker threatens megaspill on Great Barrier reef |
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| visitorq wrote: |
This isn't about my 'caring' or not, or having an agenda etc. - it's about simple common sense. There is no way this event could ever remotely be considered an environmental 'disaster'. |
I was mostly trying to make you think, VQ.
Why is it when a tanker runs into one of the worlds most pristine ecosystems and threatens to dump its oil...my immediate reaction is alarm, and yours is hand waving?
I'm not the only one. News reports had it that most australians were outraged that some clueless dirty oil tanker could possibly threaten the beautiful reef.In case you haven't been to Australia, the majority of people there are very proud and protectiive of the great barrier reef- its part of the national heritage, it draws thousands if not millions of tourists every year.
In the same way, Australians have worked hard to protect whales by establishing a sanctuary by which their populations were free to recover, breed up and feed. Only for yet another Asian country to undo the good by hunting them.
I guess this is what causes the anger: australians care about their environment and natural heritage, whereas many asian nations have an entirely different, careless approach. |
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visitorq
Joined: 11 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 7:03 am Post subject: Re: Chinese Tanker threatens megaspill on Great Barrier reef |
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| nautilus wrote: |
| visitorq wrote: |
This isn't about my 'caring' or not, or having an agenda etc. - it's about simple common sense. There is no way this event could ever remotely be considered an environmental 'disaster'. |
I was mostly trying to make you think, VQ.
Why is it when a tanker runs into one of the worlds most pristine ecosystems and threatens to dump its oil...my immediate reaction is alarm, and yours is hand waving?
I'm not the only one. News reports had it that most australians were outraged that some clueless dirty oil tanker could possibly threaten the beautiful reef.In case you haven't been to Australia, the majority of people there are very proud and protectiive of the great barrier reef- its part of the national heritage, it draws thousands if not millions of tourists every year.
In the same way, Australians have worked hard to protect whales by establishing a sanctuary by which their populations were free to recover, breed up and feed. Only for yet another Asian country to undo the good by hunting them.
I guess this is what causes the anger: australians care about their environment and natural heritage, whereas many asian nations have an entirely different, careless approach. |
If you want to feign moral indignation, fine go ahead. Just don't expect me to buy into it. The fact of the matter is that there is no threat posed to the reef by this spill. If there were, I'd also be alarmed, but there isn't. At all. The numbers don't lie. |
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Wishmaster
Joined: 06 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 7:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Well, Visitorq, considering how polluted the oceans of the world are, ONE drop of oil is indeed an environmental disaster. |
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bacasper
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:43 pm Post subject: |
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OK, so maybe a disaster was avoided, but spilling two tons of oil is at least a damn shame.
Tanker refloated
AUTHORITIES have successfully refloated the bulk coal carrier that had been stranded on the Great Barrier Reef.
The 230-metre Chinese vessel, the Shen Neng 1, ran aground on Douglas Shoal off Rockhampton on April 3, spilling at least two tonnes of oil.
A spokesman for Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) said the vessel had been refloated at around 8pm (AEST) and so far there were no sign of any more oil spilling.
"They have moved it to a position off the shoal. It has been stabilised and will probably be floating there for another hour," he told AAP.
Authorities were desperate to refloat the vessel before bad weather hit the region.
Most of the 970 tonnes of heavy fuel oil aboard the ship had already been pumped out ahead of the refloating attempt, but there had remained a chance of a further spill. |
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Senior
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
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| Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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Hip, hip hurray!
Let's have three cheers for industry and technical expertise and know-how. |
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nautilus
Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!
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| Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Senior wrote: |
Hip, hip hurray!
Let's have three cheers for industry and technical expertise and know-how. |
Congratulations to the Aussies, who work hard to keep their pristine waters blue and full of beautiful tropical fish and Whales.
Unlike China's dirty coastline. |
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