Queensland. 5 July 2010. A committal hearing has begun in Brisbane’s Magistrates Court today for the ship owners and captain charged over a massive oil spill in Moreton Bay off Brisbane in south-east Queensland last year.
Filipino national Bernardino Gonzales Santos, 48, was the captain of the cargo ship Pacific Adventurer, which spilled more than 270,000 litres of oil, leading to a major clean-up of Moreton and Bribie islands and Sunshine Coast beaches in March, 2009.
Santos and the four companies behind the Pacific Adventurer each face one count of discharging oil into the ocean. Captain Santos also faces an additional charge of failing to notify authorities.
The ship was sailing north from Port Kembla in New South Wales last year when it hit rough weather off the south-east Queensland coast. More than 30 containers fell overboard, piercing the ship’s fuel tanks and 270,000 litres of oil spilled into the ocean.
The clean-up and compensation bill was estimated at $31 million. The continuing clean-up has so far cost $15 million. The ship’s operators last year established a Federal Court-administered compensation fund.
While the spill is deeply regrettable, the company made a statement that it will defend the charges and support Captain Santos.
The court heard eight witnesses are expected to be cross-examined during the committal hearing, which is likely to take three days.
Santos will be allowed to continue sailing in Australian waters after facing court over the incident. The charge carries a maximum penalty of $350,000. His barrister told the court that Santos was the only bread winner in his family and that any prosecution should be made against other parties with deeper pockets.– ?