Great Barrier Reef Disaster: Chinese Coal Ship To Pay $29M

The Australian government has agreed a $29.6m (£22m) settlement with the owners of a Chinese coal carrier that caused significant damage to the Great Barrier Reef more than six years ago. The Shen Neng 1 hit a shoal in April 2010, leaking tonnes of heavy fuel oil. Conservationists have described the settlement, which is less than a third of the full clean-up cost of $105m (£80m), as “woefully inadequate”. The clean-up operation will begin mid next year. The 230m (750 ft.) ship had ground against a coral shoal for more than a kilometre, turning coral into dust. Shenzhen Energy Transport, the firm behind the carrier, refused to accept responsibility for the damage for six years. They argued the reef was self-healing and the company should not have to pay the bill.