Asia/Pacific News
Fourteen Ships to be Investigated Over Australian Bunker Spill
Fourteen ships will be tested as the possible source of a marine fuel spill south of Townsville, Australia, the Brisbane Times reports.
Patrick Quirk, general manager of Maritime Services Queensland, told the Times that "We know the ships that went past the area" and "We plan to take oil samples from all of those ships."
On July 17 a fisherman reported an 800-metre oil slick 33 kilometers from Cape Upstart.
Since then, the slick has reportedly broken into a film 30 kilometers long and five kilometers wide.
Although the slick is not visible to aircraft equipment, Maritime Safety Queensland is concerned about its possible impact on reefs five nautical miles away.
Samples from the spill have been taken, and Quirk said they will be compared to samples that have already been taken from five ships and will be taken from the other ships when they reach port in Australia andr overseas.
"We are pulling out all stops to find the culprit," he added.
Meanwhile, Australian and American environmental specialists were busy cleaning up a marine fuel spill on Australia's Casuarina Beach in Darwin, reportedly to have occurred during a local military exercise.
