"The Chinese coal ship that ran onto the Great Barrier Reef was one of dozens of freighters to have taken a legal short cut between dangerous shoals this year, satellite images show.
A shallow channel between Douglas Shoal and North Reef off the Queensland coast - the navigation of which is equivalent to threading a needle - has become a regular route for cargo carriers trying to shave time and money off their voyages.
But Douglas Shoal, where the 230-metre Shen Neng 1 ran aground on Saturday, is outside the known short cut and surrounded by a three nautical-mile prohibited zone for cargo ships."
Saffron Howden, Tom Arup and Ben Cubby report for the Sydney Morning Herald April 7, 2010.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 04/07/2010
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