Oil Spill Blackens Australian Beaches

Oil spoils Queensland's beaches and threatens wildlife. (The Epoch Times)

SYDNEY—A number of Australian beaches North and East of Brisbane have been covered in oil after a damaged cargo ship leaked up to 30 tonnes of fuel oil.

The oil leaked from the cargo ship Pacific Adventurer, which was holed when it lost 31 containers of ammonium nitrate overboard in rough seas whipped up by Cyclone Hamish on March 11.

The ship’s hull was damaged during the spill in the rough seas. Early reports say 30 tonnes of oil leaked from the ship after a falling container breached the hull.

The aerial searches have failed to find any sign of the containers.

Dr. Michael White from the Centre of Marine Studies at the University of Queensland says the ammonium nitrate leak will not seriously harm the bay.

“The last time we had a really big fertiliser spill ... all that happened was the kelp grew to 30 feet and it was normally only five feet high,” he said.

Michael Short from the Environmental Protection Agency says the oil slick is a greater concern than the lost cargo.

“There is oil on the surface so that can have an impact on beach environments and wildlife, so that’s where our focus is,” he said.

Lifesavers and locals woke Thursday to find oil on their beaches. Aerial checks found that the oil slick stretched 10 kilometres along the Sunshine Coast, with reports of heavy oil on Marcoola Beach and the east side of Moreton island.

As environmentalists endeavour to rescue turtle eggs along the coast, there is concern for bird and marine life in the Moreton Bay Marine Park, particularly dolphins, which are abundant in the region.

Five oil-covered pelicans flew in to the daily feeding session at Tangalooma Resort, on Moreton Island, on Thursday morning.

Tangalooma resort director Trevor Hassard says one beach on Moreton Island is black, in an ABC report.

“It does look absolutely, devastatingly awful,” he said.

However, Mr Hassard says most Moreton Island beaches escaped damage from the spill.

Environmentalist, Craig Bohm, from the Australian Marine Conservation Society, told ABC radio it was  a lesson to authorities to keep ships out of the Moreton Bay Marine Park during rough seas.

“We’re always concerned that ships should not be moving in and out of Moreton Bay Marine Park during such conditions,” he said.

“They should perhaps be asked to wait offshore until such conditions pass.”