Salvage effort sparks explosive response

The freighter ran aground on 2 November

An attempt to free a ship stranded on Australia's Great Barrier Reef using explosives has provoked an angry reaction from Aborigines and environmental groups.

Salvage divers blew up three sections of the Sudbury coral reef on Sunday, which they said was necessary to allow tugs to pull the 21,000-tonne container ship free.

But a lawyer for local Aborigines said he is considering legal action, while the World Wide Fund for Nature said other methods should have been used.

The freighter, which is carrying thousands of tonnes of fuel, ran aground on the reef 12 days ago, off the coast of Queensland.

Local Aborigines say they are the traditional owners of parts of the Great Barrier Reef - a World Heritage Site.

Legal action

North Queensland Aboriginal Land Council lawyer Martin Dore told the French news agency AFP legal action was likely.

"There is no reason why there should not be a claim for compensation because of the damage to the reef and the damage to the native title rights of claimants to the region," Mr Dore said.

A spokeswoman for the World Wide Fund for Nature, Imogen Zethoven, said: "We were shocked to discover this has happened.

Pollution would be devastating for the coral

"Other options should have been implemented, such as removing the cargo," Ms Zethoven said.

But officials from Queensland's transport ministry - which co-ordinated the operation - denied that there will be lasting or even serious damage to the coral.

They describe the blasting as carefully controlled trimming, taking about three metres from the top of the coral outcrops to allow ocean-going tugs to get close to the freighter.

Refloat

State Transport Minister, Steve Bredhauer, said the decision to use explosives was not taken lightly:

"It was taken in the interests of maximising our chances of refloating the vessel and minimising the prospects of a marine pollution incident as a result of the refloat."

Transport officials are hoping to refloat the freighter on Tuesday, with the high tide.

Previous attempts to free the vessel made no progress.

Calls for a ban on ships over the reef have been rejected

If this latest effort fails, the authorities say they will have to consider a less-favoured option of removing the 12,000 tonnes of fuel on board.

Queensland officials said no oil is leaking from the ship.

But marine experts have said the reef will take years to recover from being crushed by the ship's weight.

Registered in Malaysia, the Bunga Teratai Satu was sailing from Singapore to Sydney when it ran aground near the Queensland city of Cairns.

The ship's first officer has been charged with negligence and has returned to his home in Pakistan, pending a court appearance.