Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au

Aaron Bunch
Ship’s master in Qld court for cargo spill

The captain of the APL England has been granted permission to leave Australia despite facing charges related to a cargo spill that triggered a massive clean up.

June 12, 2020

The captain of a ship that lost dozens of containers overboard has been granted permission to leave Australia, despite facing multiple charges over poor cargo loading.

Mohamad Zulkhaili Bin Alias’s bail was varied in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday to allow him to leave theĀ APL England and return home to Malaysia and work.

The 43-year-old is charged with two offences relating to the discharge of garbage into the sea and failing to ensure a vessel is operated so as not to cause pollution or damage to the Australian marine environment.

The Singapore-flagged ship was en route to Melbourne from China in May when rough seas caused 50 shipping containers to topple overboard off the Sydney coast.

Containers and other debris have since washed up on NSW beaches, triggering a massive clean-up operation.

Crews have inspected and cleaned 45 beachesĀ along the coast, with 20 separate recovery teams deployed.

NSW Maritime said 24 containers were empty refrigerated containers, while 26 contained a variety of goods.

Only 15 containers have been found and removed to date, however.

A further two semi-submerged containers believed to be from the APL England were sighted off the far-south coast earlier this week.

But attempts to locate these via aerial surveillance have been unsuccessful.

The debris removed so far includes medical face masks, insulation from the refrigerated containers and plastic food containers.

Other goods transported in the lost containers includes bar stools, food dehydrators, furniture, range hoods, gazebos and “cat furniture”.

The APL England remains under detention in the Port of Brisbane.

It will not be released “until its serious deficiencies have been rectified”, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority has previously said.

AMSA also ordered $22 million from the ship’s insurers under the Protection of the Seas Act, which must be paid before the ship will be released from detention.

This money covers the estimated clean-up and remediation costs.

The charges against Alias carry a maximum penalty of more than $300,000.

The bail variation included a condition that he return to face court at a later date.

The matter will return to the same court for mention on July 24.

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