Breaking News, World News and Taiwan News.

Updated Friday, March 13, 2009 4:11 pm TWN, By DENNIS PASSA, AP



	Oil filled waves roll into Coolum Beach on Australia's Sunshine coast, Friday, March 13, 2009. Nearly 40 miles of Australian beaches have been blackened by oil spilled from a cargo ship caught in stormy seas this week, leading the state premier Friday to declare the area a disaster zone and warn that the ship's operators could face legal action. (AP) Enlarge Photo

Sponsors
▪	Find great real time deals on China Flights. Book flights to China or China domestic flights 24/7.
▪	Buy china wholesale products from reliable chinese wholesalers on DHgate.com!
▪	Save 75% for all hotels in Shanghai, Beijing and whole China. Lowest rates for Flights in China.
▪	Get the best deals for Guangzhou Hotels or choose from more than 10,000 hotels in 499 Chinese cities.

Oil-soaked Australian beaches named disaster zones

BRISBANE, Australia — Authorities declared a disaster zone Friday along a stretch of some of Australia's most pristine and popular beaches after tons of fuel oil that leaked from a stricken cargo ship rolled ashore as black sludge.

The government of northeastern Queensland state denied it had acted too slowly to stop an environmental disaster, and threatened the shipping company with a multimillion-dollar compensation lawsuit.

National parks at Moreton and Bribie islands just north of the state capital of Brisbane were worst hit by the fuel oil that leaked from the container ship Pacific Adventurer on Wednesday, and oil washed ashore in pockets along the popular Sunshine Coast.

The potential for long-term environmental damage was not clear. The affected area is far to the south of the Great Barrier Reef, which was not under threat.

Wildlife authorities said the only animal victims so far were a handful of birds that had been soaked in oil, but warned things could get worse as long as the slick remained.

Britain's Swire Shipping Ltd., the Hong Kong-registered ship's owner, said Friday the equivalent of more than 11,000 gallons (42,500 liters) of heavy fuel oil escaped into the sea after containers slipped from the deck and ripped a hole in the hull as it rocked in cyclone-stirred waters.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said the company had earlier told the government the spill was much smaller, leading officials to predict there would be little environmental damage.

"We will be pursuing these ship's owners for full compensation for the cost of this clean-up," Bligh said. Swire "should stand on notice that they will get a very large compensation claim from the Queensland government," she said.

"This could ... be the worst environmental disaster we have faced," she said.

Bligh declared some 37 miles (60 kilometers) of normally white-sand beaches a disaster zone, giving authorities the power to close off public access. Bulldozers and other heavy machinery began moving onto affected beaches to scrape up the blackened sand.

1|2|Next Page>>