Two Hong Kong men have been fined in an Australian court for sailing a bulk carrier into a protected part of the Great Barrier Reef.
Two Hong Kong men have been fined in an Australian court for sailing a bulk carrier into a protected part of the Great Barrier Reef. The Hong Kong nationals pleaded guilty in the Gladstone Magistrates Court for entering a restricted zone in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and were fined a total of 53-thousand dollars. The court heard the chief officer and third officer were in charge of the 180-metre Signe Bulker when it illegally entered the Capricorn-Bunker Group of Islands last Tuesday. The ship was originally heading towards Lady Musgrave Island, but the crew decided to take a short cut through the Capricorn-Bunker Islands. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says the carrier then travelled to Gladstone, where authorities interviewed the crew. Last year, the Reef was damaged when the Shen Neng 1 ran aground after veering off course. Two of its crewmen were charged.
