Damage to Great Barrier Reef costs ship owner £22.6m

Australia's government has reached a AUS$39.3m (€26.6m) settlement with the owners of a Chinese coal carrier to pay for environmental damage caused when the ship ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef six years ago.

The government had sued Shenzhen Energy Transport for at least AUS$120m (€81m) in the Australian Federal Court.

The fully laden ship Shen Neng 1 went off course and grounded on Douglas Shoal, 100kms east of the town of Rockhampton, among the World Heritage-listed coral reefs in April 2010.

Environment minister Josh Frydenberg said in a statement that Shenzhen Energy Transport had agreed to the out-of-court-settlement after refusing to accept responsibility for restitution for more than six years.