Great Barrier Reef ship leaking oil into wildlife sanctuary

SYDNEY – Australian police arrested a Chinese ship captain and senior officer Wednesday and charged them with damaging the Great Barrier Reef, more than a week after their coal carrier ran aground and tore a two-mile (three-kilometer) gash in the protected area.

The Shen Neng 1 veered out of a shipping lane and slammed into the reef on April 3, possibly smearing the coral with toxic paint that could prevent marine life from growing back. Even in the best case scenario, experts said the damage could take 20 years to heal.

Coral shredded the ship's hull, causing it to leak 2-3 tons of fuel oil. Most of the oil was dispersed by a chemical spray and did little or no damage to the reef itself, but officials said Wednesday they believe some of it has begun to wash up on the beaches of a wildlife sanctuary.

The Great Barrier Reef is a World Heritage site because of its gleaming waters and environmental value as home to thousands of marine species. The accident occurred in the southern tip of the reef, which is not the main tourism hub.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100414/ap_on_re_as/as_australia_coal_carrier

How do you prevent this kind of crime? Arrest after the fact is pretty useless. Punitive, which is nice, but useless.

Outside of patrolling the area by the Australian navy, I don't know... talk about a blatant disregard for the reef, though, not knowing what you are plowing through. Idiots!