Earlier today, the Australian government vowed that those responsible for a Chinese coal hauler running aground near the Great Barrier Reef will face criminal charges.
"It is quite clear this vessel went on a course that was unlawful," Anthony Albanese, the transport minister, told reporters in Brisbane after an aerial tour of the stranded coal carrier. "We'll be throwing the book at those responsible."
The Shen Neng 1 ran aground on Douglas Shoal in the world heritage-listed reef's marine park last Saturday after straying more than 15 nautical miles (30 kilometres) off course, spilling about three tonnes of fuel oil.
This comes a day after the ship's owner, Shenzhen Energy Transport, a subsidiary of state-owned COSCO, apolgized for the incident. Shenzhen Energy said the ship was originally supposed to turn to the east, but failed to do so.
In what might be an ominous sign for the Shen Neng, on the same day three men were arrested for sailing into a restricted area of the reef.
The AFP says the MV Mimosa vessel entered a restricted passage in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) without permission last week.
Federal agents executed a search warrant on the Panama-flagged vessel at Bowen, in north Queensland, yesterday after receiving information from the GBRMP Authority and Australian Maritime Safety Authority investigators.
Navigational equipment and charts were seized and three men have been arrested.
A 63-year-old South Korean man and two Vietnamese men aged 26 and 32 have been charged for allegedly entering a prohibited zone of the reef without permission on April 4.
This incident happened only a day after the Shen Neng fetched up aground. And these guys didn't know what had just happened. Epic, epic fail.