Another Oil Leak Nightmare Made in Australia

Serial No  1,533. If any posts are blocked in your country, please drop us a line.

Australia Scores Yet Another Double Whammy

Chinese-registered bulk coal carrier runs aground Great Barrier Reef leaking oil.

Shen Neng I, a 230-meter (754-ft) ship on its way to China, ran aground on a shoal on Saturday, with 950 metric tons of heavy fuel oil on board, officials said, Reuters reported.

Oil is leaking from the Chinese bulk coal carrier Shen Neng I, about 70 km  east of Great Keppel Island April 4, 2010. Credit:Maritime Safety Queensland/Handout/ via Reuters

The authorities said patches of oil had been spotted in the water, near where the ship ran aground.

“Early morning flights over the carrier show a small number of oil patches about two nautical miles southeast from the ship. To date there has been no major loss of oil from the ship,” Queensland’s state government said.

The  ship was carrying 65,000 metric tons of coal from the port of Gladstone in Queensland to China.

Anna Bligh, Queensland Premier,  was concerned the ship could  break up. This time, her fears are fully justified. It would take a miracle for the ship NOT to break up!

“We are now very worried we might see further oil discharged from this ship,” she was reported as saying.

“It is in danger of actually breaking a number of its main structures and breaking into a number of parts,” said Patrick Quirk, general manager of Maritime Safety Queensland.

By far the most prophetic comment, however, came from Capricorn Conservation Council spokesman Ian Herbert, who reportedly  told the Australian Associated Press: “We can be certain that this is a sign of things to come.”

“We are outraged that no marine pilot is required on ships between Gladstone and Cairns,” he said.

“A year ago, Moreton Island, yesterday Great Keppel Island, next year — who knows where?” Herbert said referring to two of Australia’s oil pollutions.

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef, world’s largest coral reef system,  is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland,  northeast Australia. It’s made up of nearly 3,000 separate  reefs and about 1,000 islands that extend over 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) covering an area of about 350,000 square kilometers (135,000 sq miles).

The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia’s, the world’s, marine and climatic life insurance policies.

This nadir true-color image was acquired by the MISR instrument on August 26, 2000 (Terra orbit 3679), and shows part of the southern portion of the reef adjacent to the central Queensland coast. The width of the MISR swath is approximately 380 kilometers, with the reef clearly visible up to approximately 200 kilometers from the coast. If you retrieve the higher resolution version, a zoomed display reveals the spectacular structure of the many reefs. Source: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR . Click image to enlarge. Full-Res (JPEG): PIA03401.jpg (414 kB)

Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ)

MSQ general manager Patrick Quirk said the ship was badly damaged on its port side (left side).

“We are still very concerned about the ship. It is in danger of actually breaking a number of its main structures and breaking into a number of parts,” he said.

The Double Whammy?

Just imagine the combined impact of a massive oil spill and humongous avalanche of toxic coal on the fragile reefs, and marine life…

Just how much more dirty energy before you say enough is enough?

Related Links:

• Australia hit by another man-made disaster
• Australian Coal and the Planet
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• The Australian Clean Energy Ruse
• A Living Hell Heated by Australian Coal

• U.S. power plant explosion kills 50*
• 2010: Year One of Human-Enhanced Disasters
• Major Blackout Plunges Brazil into Darkness

• IF Nature Had a List of Extreme Dislikes
• Murphy’s law has no time vector!
• ConocoPhillips Alaska Head Killed in Avalanche

• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Land, Water and Air Pollution

Related News Links:

• Oil leaking ship may break up, says Bligh

TC ULUI – 2nd UPDATE – MAR 20

Was it Something We Said?

ULUI Intensifies to a Category 1 Hurricane on FEWW New Hurricane Scale,and Intensifying

UPDATE on March 20 at 06:30UTC

• Position: 19.7S, 151.7E
• Max Sustained Winds: 152 km/hr (~ 82 kt)
• Wind Gusts: 200 km/hr (~ 107 kt)
• Movement: WSW (240 degrees)
• Forward Speed: ~ 24 km/hr (13 kt)
• Location: About 515 km EAST (98.5degrees) of Townsville, Australia
• Maximum significant wave height: 9m (27 feet)
• Sources: JTWC, CIMSS and others.
• Comments: The cyclone’s deep convection has developed much further. Satellite images indicate that ULUI could develop an eye before it strikes the Australian coast.  Warm coastal waters are feeding ULUI and there’s little vertical wind shear to oppose the cyclone from further strengthening. ULUI could potentially intensify into a category 2A [90 percent probability],  a Cat 2B [64 percent probability] or even a Cat 3A [~ 50 percent probability] Hurrine force on FEWW New Hurricane Scale before making a landfall.

• Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has warned that up to 30cm of rain could fall in areas under the projected path of TC ULUI.

Cyclone ULUI IR Satellite image with GFS and CMC forecast tracks superimposed. The track marked in yellow is Fire-Earth Forecast. Source CIMSS. Click Images to enlarge.

Tropical Cyclone ULUI – Visible [postcard]  image – MTSAT 1R – Dated March 20, 2010 at 05:00UTC.   Source: Digital Typhoon.  Click image to enlarge.

On the Ground …

Meanwhile, Australia’s Queensland prime minister (they have one for each state), Anna Bligh, has declared a disaster zone across the state’s central and northern coast a day ahead of cyclone ULUI arrival.

Bligh declared the Townsville, Burdekin, Whitsunday, Charters Towers, Mackay, Isaac, Rockhampton and Central Highlands as disaster areas, local reports said.

“This declaration is in anticipation that some properties may need to be evacuated in the coming hours as Tropical Cyclone Ului approaches and then crosses the North Queensland coast,” she said.

“The declaration gives Emergency Services agencies the power of mandatory evacuations if required.”

For additional images click on the following links:

• Visible
• Visible Loop
• IR
• IR Loop
• Colorized IR
• Colorized IR loop.
• Water Vapor
• Water vapor loop

How ULUI was born:

• Last 24 Hours : MPEG / WMV
• Last 120 Hours : MPEG / WMV
• Last 240 Hours : MPEG / WMV

ULUI History and Related Links:

• Tropical Cyclone ULUI – UPDATE Mar 20

• TC ULUI: Mid-air refueling
• Cyclone ULUI – UPDATE Mar 18
• TC ULUI and TOMAS – UPDATE Mar 17

• Cyclone ULUI: Enough Fuel to Land in Australia
• Cyclones TOMAS and ULUI – UPDATE Mar 16
• Tropical Cyclone TOMAS
• Tropical Cyclone ULUI

• Cyclones TOMAS and ULUI – UPDATE Mar 15
• Cyclones ULUI and TOMAS – UPDATE Mar 14
• TC ULUI and TOMAS – UPDATE Mar 13
• Tropical Cyclones Now Come in Pairs
• FEWW New Hurricane Scale

Tropical Cyclone ULUI – UPDATE Mar 20

SEE LATEST UPDATE AT >> TC ULUI – MAR 20 — 2nd UPDATE

Cyclones in NH: More Character?

TC ULUI has further weakened to a tropical storm with sustained winds of about 105 km/hr

Residents on the east coast of Australia in locations between about 17ºS and 27ºS should already be experiencing moderate to heavy winds accompanied by rain.

Cyclone ULUI  (TC 20P) Details on March 20 at 00:01UTC

• Position: 19.3S 153.8E
• Max Sustained Winds:  105 km/hr (~ 55 kt)
• Wind Gusts: 130 km/hr (~ 70 kt)
• Movement:  SW (225 degrees)
• Forward Speed:  ~ 24 km/hr (13 kt)
• Location: About 900 ESE of Cairns
• Maximum significant wave height: 7m (22 feet)
• Sources: JTWC, CIMSS and others.
• Comments: The cyclone’s deep convection has developed slightly, though  partially. ULUI is expected to weaken further before reaching ashore in about a day or so, and dissipate within a day thereafter.
• Australia’s own Bureau of Meteorology has warned that up to 30cm of rain could fall in areas under  the projected path of TC ULUI.

Cyclone ULUI Vis/IR Satellite image with GFS forecast track superimposed. Source CIMSS. Click Images to enlarge.

On the Ground …

Meanwhile, Australia’s Queensland prime minister (they have one for each state), Anna Bligh, has lost her nerve declaring a disaster zone across the state’s central and northern coast a day ahead of cyclone ULUI arrival.

Bligh declared the Townsville, Burdekin, Whitsunday, Charters Towers, Mackay, Isaac, Rockhampton and Central Highlands as disaster areas.

“This declaration is in anticipation that some properties may need to be evacuated in the coming hours as Tropical Cyclone Ului approaches and then crosses the North Queensland coast,” she said.

“The declaration gives Emergency Services agencies the power of mandatory evacuations (!) if required.”

Cyclone ULUI – 1km Visible Image. The center of ULUI appears as a slight depression near 19S, 154E on this image. Source CIMSS. Click Images to enlarge.

Tropical Cyclone ULUI – Visible [postcard]  image – MTSAT 1R – Dated March 20, 2010 at 00:00UTC.   Source: Digital Typhoon.  Click image to enlarge.

For additional images click on the following links:

• Visible
• Visible Loop
• IR
• IR Loop
• Colorized IR
• Colorized IR loop.
• Water Vapor
• Water vapor loop

How ULUI was born:

• Last 24 Hours : MPEG / WMV
• Last 120 Hours : MPEG / WMV
• Last 240 Hours : MPEG / WMV

ULUI History and Related Links:

• TC ULUI: Mid-air refueling
• Cyclone ULUI – UPDATE Mar 18
• TC ULUI and TOMAS – UPDATE Mar 17

• Cyclone ULUI: Enough Fuel to Land in Australia
• Cyclones TOMAS and ULUI – UPDATE Mar 16
• Tropical Cyclone TOMAS
• Tropical Cyclone ULUI

• Cyclones TOMAS and ULUI – UPDATE Mar 15
• Cyclones ULUI and TOMAS – UPDATE Mar 14
• TC ULUI and TOMAS – UPDATE Mar 13
• Tropical Cyclones Now Come in Pairs
• FEWW New Hurricane Scale