The Australian government is seeking AUD 120m ($92m) from a Chinese shipowner after one of its bulkers ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
Government barristers laid out those damages in opening remarks before a federal court as part of their case against Shenzhen Energy Transport.
The company’s 70,000-dwt Shen Neng 1 (built 1993), since renamed Jia Yong, hit the Douglas Shoal in April 2010, severely damaging or destroying an area covering 115,000 square meters and leaving toxic anti-fouling paint on the reef.
The government said the particles had to be removed from the reef in order to allow it to recover.
But Shenzhen is arguing that the reef has largely recuperated on its own and that it should not be held liable for the cost of a clean-up that was not needed.
London P&I Club, which provides protection and indemnity coverage on the vessel, also filed a brief with the federal court saying the estimated costs of fixing the reef were unrealistic.
