Sink or swim bid on wreck
A SHIP washed on to Gloucester Island during Cyclone Debbie could be sunk off Bowen to create a tourist attraction.
Whitsundays councillor Mike Brunker said the 35m long former Japanese research vessel Tateyama Maru should be sunk as a dive wreck.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about for some time but it would cost about $ 1 million to get one of those navy ships and sink,” he said.
“Why not use this where it will cost us next to nothing? This ship is here, let’s get in and do something with it.”
Cr Brunker will put forward the suggestion at the next council meeting.
He said the idea would need support from the Government and the Great Barrier Marine Park Authority if it were to go ahead.
“We’d need to put it at the right depth so it’s not affecting any of the shipping or the trawlers,” he said. “If council are prepared to support ball rolling.”
Ship owner Patrick von Stieglitz has previously told media that he can’t afford to move the vessel.
Whitsundays MP Jason Costigan agreed the Tateyama Maru should be sunk as a dive wreck, but the first priority was to remove it from a national park.
He said it would not be a simple matter of sinking the ship, it would still need to be removed promptly and cleaned out properly to protect the environment.
“You can’t just put anything at the bottom of the deep blue and hope that Nemo, Dory and Crush the turtle live it, that will get the happily ever after there,” he said.
Mr Costigan said he was aware it had taken 11 months for Maritime Safety Queensland to arrange the removal of sunken tall ship Defender from Ross Creek last year.
“If the Ross Creek approach is allowed in this instance, I’ll be screaming blue murder,” he said. “This is a different matter, this is a national park in the middle of the Whitsundays.”
A petition is circulating in the Whitsundays and online calling for the Government to remove the ship to prevent environmental damage.
Mr Costigan will table the petition in Queensland Parliament on May 9.
Dawson MP George Christensen declined to comment.
A Transport and Main Roads spokesman said the state had appointed a contractor to remove pollutants from the ship.
“State and commonwealth agencies are reviewing salvage options,” the spokesman said.
“This includes discussion with the owner, who remains responsible for his vessel and salvage costs.”