Should ships travelling the inner Great Barrier Reef carry marine pilots?
Vote in our poll. “I was not aware until this incident that we have vessels going very close to our coastline … just outside of tourist islands such as the Great Keppel group … without a pilot,” he said. “I’m shocked and our community is very disappointed this is happening. “The premier has reported quite clearly that there will be an increase in large bulk carriers using this area. Liquefied natural gas carriers will be shortly running this particular route. “I believe that having pilots, while vessels are inside the reef, until they’re clear of the reef, is absolutely essential and the legislation has to be changed.” Yesterday, a furious Premier Anna Bligh said everything was being done to limit the damage from what appeared to be blatant breaches of Australia’s shipping laws. “This is an extremely serious incident. This ship has acted illegally going into these restricted areas,” she said. “The Commonwealth Government is now investigating how this happened, and I hope, frankly,
