Settlement Reached for Shen Neng 1 Damage to Great Barrier Reef

Shenzhen Energy Transport Company, the owner of Shen Neng 1, a Chinese coal carrier which ran aground at the Great Barrier Reef in April 2010, has reached an agreement to pay $39.3 million to the Australian Government for remediation costs.

The settlement is much lower of what the Government, reportedly,  was seeking in the Federal Court. As a part of the settlement, $35 million will be paid to the Government for the removal of polluted rubble that ship left on the reef as it drifted over three kilometers.

Further $4.3 million will be paid to cover costs incurred by the Government in the immediate aftermath of the grounding.

The 225-meter-long Shen Neng 1 left the reef top crushed and coated with toxic paint at the Douglas Shoal, which must be repaired to allow the naturally resilient corals in that area to recover.

“I am pleased that our 2013 decision to pursue a legal claim for damages, after negotiations with the vessel’s insurers became protracted, has now led to an agreement to make funds available for a clean-up,” said Dr Russell Reichelt, chairman, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA).

“While the court processes were underway, the Marine Park Authority conducted surveys at the site and tested clean-up methods.

“Using this scientific and engineering work, the agency will use the funds from the settlement to initiate field operations to remove paint and rubble, enabling restoration of the natural ecological processes on this reef.”

Furthermore, the GBRMPA investigation led to the ship’s master and first officer being convicted of criminal offences against the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act. The first officer was found criminally negligent, resulting in a jail term.

“It is clearly unsatisfactory that it has taken more than six years to reach this point of settlement with the owners of Shen Neng 1, the Shenzhen Energy Transport Company,” added Dr Russell Reichelt.

Greenpeace Australia also expressed dissatisfaction with the settlement. Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s reef campaigner Shani Tager said: “This settlement is woefully inadequate; given the damage this ship has caused.

“The government has said the full cleanup will cost more than $140m so to settle for such a small figure is disappointing.”