Salvage crews at a damaged coal carrier stuck on the Great Barrier Reef today began pumping fuel oil from the stricken vessel onto another barge to carry it away and prevent it from leaking onto the delicate reef.

A coal carrier which ran aground on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has been stabilised and a fuel oil leak contained within a boom, helping to minimise damage to the world’s largest coral reef, a maritime official said today.

The crew of a coal-carrying ship that ran aground on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and is leaking oil will be questioned today about why their vessel was in a restricted area, an official said.