SYDNEY - A major oil clean-up was underway off Australia's northeast coast Thursday to limit the damage to beaches and marine life after a ship lost 30 tons of fuel when its hull was pierced by a container washed overboard.
Marine experts are still searching for 31 containers of ammonium nitrate, used for making fertilizer and explosives, which were lost from The Pacific Adventurer off Moreton Bay near the city of Brisbane Wednesday.
If the containers, which have 620 tons of ammonium nitrate, leak it could cause major algae blooms which would choke marine life in Moreton Bay, say marine scientists.
Maritime Safety Queensland said the missing containers may never be recovered.
"It happened outside of Moreton Bay, on the eastern cape, in water with about 200 meters (600 feet) depth. If they sank it's likely they'll stay there," said a spokesman.
News reports from helicopters said the oil slick stretched 40 to 60 kms (25-40 miles) along the shore of Moreton Island.
A local lifesaver said oil globules stretched for about one km along one beach on the Queensland Sunshine Coast.
"As you walk along it sticks to the bottom of your shoe like glue," said David McLean from Marcoola Surf Life Saving Club.
Beachgoers were trying to limit the environmental impact, saving turtle eggs and cleaning up the oil, said McLean.
Wildlife injured by the oil spill were being treated by staff from the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency.
Heavy seas whipped up by a tropical storm, which caused the containers to break loose, were helping the oil clean-up by pushing the oil slicks offshore.
"Oil is a natural resource, it just breaks up naturally under weather, including the sun and water," said a spokesman for the Queensland state Environmental Protection Agency.
Marine experts are still searching for 31 containers of ammonium nitrate, used for making fertilizer and explosives, which were lost from The Pacific Adventurer off Moreton Bay near the city of Brisbane Wednesday.
If the containers, which have 620 tons of ammonium nitrate, leak it could cause major algae blooms which would choke marine life in Moreton Bay, say marine scientists.
Maritime Safety Queensland said the missing containers may never be recovered.
"It happened outside of Moreton Bay, on the eastern cape, in water with about 200 meters (600 feet) depth. If they sank it's likely they'll stay there," said a spokesman.
News reports from helicopters said the oil slick stretched 40 to 60 kms (25-40 miles) along the shore of Moreton Island.
A local lifesaver said oil globules stretched for about one km along one beach on the Queensland Sunshine Coast.
"As you walk along it sticks to the bottom of your shoe like glue," said David McLean from Marcoola Surf Life Saving Club.
Beachgoers were trying to limit the environmental impact, saving turtle eggs and cleaning up the oil, said McLean.
Wildlife injured by the oil spill were being treated by staff from the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency.
Heavy seas whipped up by a tropical storm, which caused the containers to break loose, were helping the oil clean-up by pushing the oil slicks offshore.
"Oil is a natural resource, it just breaks up naturally under weather, including the sun and water," said a spokesman for the Queensland state Environmental Protection Agency.
