12 Apr 2010

Ship crew charged over Great Barrier Reef route

11:55 am on 12 April 2010

Three ship crew members have been charged in Queensland with entering restricted waters on the Great Barrier Reef.

The ABC reports the men from Korea and Vietnam were arrested on Saturday night in Bowen after Australian Federal police searched the bulk carrier MV Mimosa.

It's alleged the ship travelled through an unidentified shipping route and ignored warnings by authorities.

It happened a day after a Chinese coal carrier, the Shen Neng 1 became stranded on the reef, off the Queensland coast.