MV ''Pacific Mariner'', formerly MV ''Pacific Adventurer'', is a 1123 TEU geared multi-purpose

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

that gained notoriety after causing Queensland's largest oil spill on the east coast of Australia in March 2009. The ship is owned by Swire Shipping and registered in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. She has also sailed under the names, ''Pacific Challenger'', and ''Changsa''.

Coral Sea oil spill

As MV ''Pacific Adventurer'', the vessel was sailing from Newscastle to the

Port of Brisbane Port of Brisbane is the shipping port and coastal suburb of the City of Brisbane, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. In the , Port of Brisbane had no residents living in the suburb. The port is the largest in the state of Queensland. ...

. During rough seas created by

Cyclone Hamish Severe Tropical Cyclone Hamish was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage to the Great Barrier Reef and coastal Queensland, Australia, in March 2009. The eighth named storm of the 2008–09 Australian region cyclone season, Hami ...

230 tonnes of fuel oil, 30 tonnes of other fuel and 31 shipping containers (620 tonnes) of ammonium nitrate spilled into the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...

, off the coast from

Cape Moreton Cape Moreton is a rocky headland at the north eastern tip of Moreton Island in South East Queensland, Australia. The surrounding area is part of the Moreton Island National Park. Flinders Reef is north-west of Cape Moreton. The outcrop is mos ...

. 100,000 litres of oil washed up on the coasts of Queensland resulting in the area being declared a disaster zone by Premier

Anna Bligh Anna Maria Bligh (born 14 July 1960) is a lobbyist and former Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of Queensland, in office from 2007 to 2012 as leader of the Labor Party. She was the first woman to hold either position. In 2 ...

. The leak was contained before reaching Hamilton Wharf in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, the nearest port. The ship then leaked oil while docked in the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

which caused another 500 m long oil slick. After the

Australian Maritime Safety Authority Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. The authority ...

inspected the ship and declared her seaworthy it left Brisbane in April 2009 with a new captain at the helm. In August 2009 the ships owners agreed to pay $25 million compensation. Totals costs for cleaning up after the spill reached $34 million.

References

External links

The China Navigation Co. Ltd. official website

at ''VesselTracker''
WikiSwire website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacific Mariner 1991 ships History of Queensland Maritime incidents in 2009 Merchant ships of Hong Kong

Coral Sea oil spill

See also

References

External links