---

Australia's Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has revealed that he has asked for a special panel to be set up in order to assess the damage to the Great Barrier Reef caused by the grounding of a Chinese bulk carrier, which was involved in a fuel oil spill over the weekend.

The coal ship Shen Neng 1 ran aground last Saturday on the Douglas Shoal, east of Rockhampton and around 100 kilometers (63 miles) off the Queensland coast.

Damage to the vessel's fuel tank has caused an oil spill stretching approximately three kilometres.

Shen Neng 1 left the Port of Gladstone last week carrying around 975 tonnes of fuel oil and 65,000 metric tons of coal.

It is currently stranded about 38 nautical miles east of Great Keppel Island in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef, a United Nations world heritage site.

Mr Garrett says he has asked the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to coordinate the special panel. The group will also advise the Government on how the ship should be moved.

Aircraft today dropped chemical dispersants to break up fuel leaking from the 230-metre bulk carrier.

Two tugboats are currently in place to stabilise the ship. With the ship still moving on the reef due to the action of the seas, authorities are keen to prevent the vessel from breaking up in the world’s largest marine reserve.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has said that salvage experts will consider pumping oil from the damaged vessel.

"The damage is extensive to the engine, to the rudder and other parts of the ship," she said.

Bligh stated that up to two-and-a-half tonnes of oil has leaked from the ship so far.

According to Garret, an investigator from the marine safety body is working with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to establish whether any regulations or laws have been breached.