Who is to Blame for Fraser Island's Oil Spill?

An investigation is being launched into the oil spill that occurred off the eastern coast of Australia earlier this month, affecting a 60km stretch of shoreline. As yet, it remains a mystery as to who the culprit of the spill was but Australian authorities and government officials are working tirelessly to identify the wrongdoer and take appropriate action.

Identity as yet unknown

Through the development of sophisticated technology, such as oil spill aerial surveillance systems, environmentalists have been able to greatly reduce the impact that these events have on our world. These systems have the ability to quickly identify spills, monitor their size and potential outreach and dispatch units to deal with the consequences effectively.

However, the systems are not yet capable of detecting the spills in real time, meaning it can be trickier to identify which ship is responsible for the accident. In order to circumnavigate this problem, Australian authorities are currently compiling a list of all vessels that have been in the area in recent days and weeks. Cross-checking these vessels with analysis of samples of the oil should yield a verdict and bring the culprit to justice.

“We’ll leave no stone unturned,” explained Mark Bailey, who is the Ports Minister for Queensland. “We’ve taken samples of the oil spill and we’ll be doing everything that we can to identify the vessel responsible for that.”

Once the guilty party has been fingered, they could face fines up to $17 million under Commonwealth Law and $11.78m under local law.

Spill relatively unserious, thankfully

Fortunately, the implications of this spill are not too damaging to the local flora and fauna. Though the accident has affected a stretch of coastline from Dilli Village to Eurong Beach, the residue is not thought to be too substantial and the Environment Minister for Queensland, Steven Miles, believes that no wildlife has had their habitats jeopardised by the spill.

When it comes to removing oil from enclosed waters, such as reservoirs and lakes, clean-up operations can be more complicated and time-consuming. However, since the spill here affected only a short span of coastline, and the oil “patties” which have been washing on shore appear to be relatively small in size (no bigger than a tennis ball), the clean-up is expected to be completed within a week.

That comes as welcome news to local environmental agencies, as well as the majority of onsite businesses. Fraser Island depends upon its biodiversity and natural beauty for much of the income which tourism to the island provides.

The lessened impact is in stark contrast to a spill last year off the coast of Cape Upstart. The disaster, which saw the accidental release of 15 tonnes of oil, entailed a clean-up operation costing the Australian government approximately $1.5 million. On that occasion, the culprit was identified and fined accordingly within 12 months of the incident. The authorities will be hoping for a quicker investigation this time around.