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Australia is Suing the Chinese Ship That Leaked Oil and Toxic Paint Onto the Great Barrier Reef

Tributyltin is a toxic chemical used to prevent marine life from growing on the hulls of ships. Understandably, it's not for scattering across reefs.

Shen Neng One running aground back in 2010. Image via YouTube

Back in 2010, the Chinese coal carrier Shen Neng One was grounded on the Great Barrier Reef for nine days, damaging 2.2 kilometres of World Heritage-listed coral reef and leaking oil into the ocean when its fuel tanks ruptured. Now, the Australian government is suing the ship's owner for AU$120 million.

The Federal Court heard on Tuesday that paint coating the ship's hull came off when it ran aground, releasing traces of the chemical tributyltin (TBT) into the environment. This is a highly toxic biocide that's been banned throughout most of the world since the 1980s. The government maintains the chemical contaminated 112 hectares of the reef, proving lethal to marine life. This argument makes sense, because TBT is designed simply to prevents marine organisms from growing on the hulls of ships.

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The lawyer representing the Australian government, Martin Scott, told the court that between 750 kilograms and 1.5 tonnes of paint was estimated to have scraped off the vessel. He said that the particles need to be removed from the reef in order for it to recover from the toxins present in the paint, which would be tricky and expensive.

Representatives for the company that owns the ship, Shenzhen Energy Transport, said that the reef would heal itself and could cope with the leakage of paint particles and oil. They called into question the testing methods which led detected high levels of tributyltin on the reef.

Representatives for Shenzhen also argued that liability for the damage lies not with Shenzhen Energy Transport but with the ship's independently-employed chief officer Xuegang Wang. Wang was actually sentenced to 18 months jail over the incident, and the ship's master Jichang Wang received an 18 month jail sentence for it. Both were found to have handled the ship negligently—it strayed more than 10 kilometres from established shipping lanes. Needless to say, neither would be able to foot an $120 million bill to fix the reef.

Insurance company London P&I Club—who would be footing the $120 million—said in a statement to the ABC that the estimated costs were "unsubstantial and unrealistic."

While it's nice that the Australian government cares, it should be noted that, unfortunately, shipping accidents are not the only issue plaguing the Great Barrier Reef.

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