CHARGES may be laid over a massive oil spill of up to 100 tonnes that is blanketing the once pristine southeast Queensland coastline.
Premier Anna Bligh has declared Moreton Island, Bribie Island and parts of the Sunshine Coast as disaster zones.
Ms Bligh said the amount of oil that had leaked was a lot more than the original 30-tonne estimate.
Pictures: Oil slick misery on the coast
"It may well be the worst environmental disaster Queensland has ever seen," Premier Bligh said.
"We know that the ship was capable of carrying 100 tonnes so it could be anywhere between 30 and 100, but it is certainly significantly more than the 30."
A 20-strong national response team, manned by experts, had been activated to help deal with the massive oil spill from a cargo ship caught in cyclonic seas on Wednesday, she said.
Rudd promises federal help
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has vowed to provide maximum federal help to clean up the massive oil spill, describing it as a potential environmental tragedy.
Beaches on Moreton Island, Bribie Island and southern parts of the Sunshine Coast have been declared disaster zones after oil spilled from a cargo ship caught in cyclonic winds on Wednesday.
``We will work very closely with the Queensland government and authorities on a maximum pitch-in by the commonwealth to assist the state authorities in dealing with this potential environmental tragedy,'' Mr Rudd told Fairfax Radio Network on Friday.
Beaches are blanketed with oil from the Hong Kong flagged ship Pacific Adventurer as a massive clean-up is underway.
Authorities said conditions on Wednesday were too rough to use booms to try to contain the massive spill, which is likely to result in hefty fines for the ships owner Swire Shipping.
Overnight, high tides have broken up some of the oil along Bribie Island but pollution response teams including wildlife rescue officers, have been out since first light trying to deal with the mess.
Public access to the oil-affected beaches will be limited while the clean-up occurs.
The restricted zone covers Moreton Island, and the southern tip of Bribie Island, to Point Arkwright, south of Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast.
The reason why the ship was out in cyclonic seas would be the subject of a full investigation, Ms Bligh said.
"If there is any grounds for prosecution of this ship and its owners we will not hesitate to take that action.
"We will also be pursuing them for compensation as this is going to be a very big clean-up cost and I want those ship owners to be paying for it."
The owners of the ship could face huge fines, but questions are being asked about why the freighter was at sea in the middle of a cyclone, and the competency of the crew in securing its cargo of fertiliser.
The clean up is a delicate operation as beaches had already been eroded from the high tides after ex-tropical cyclone Hamish battered the coast over the past week.
Moreton Bay councillor Allan Sutherland, who has inspected the northern end of Bribie Island, told ABC Radio the oil had dispersed overnight thanks to high tides.
"A lot of the sand that has been pulled from the dunes with the high tides is helping disperse the oil so mother nature is on our side at the moment," he said.
The cargo ship also lost about 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate overboard.
The full extent of wildlife affected by the spill was yet to be realised, Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Clive Cook told ABC Radio.
"The flow-on effects of oil spills can be substantive," he said.
"The longer-term impacts are yet to be realised."
So far seven pelicans, one turtle and a few other birds had been found covered with oil, but there would be more to come, he said.
Authorities vastly underestimated the impact of the biggest oil spill on Queensland beaches and vowed to double efforts today to tackle the disaster.
After a crisis meeting at Mineral House in Brisbane last night, Premier Anna Bligh declared a large section of the southeast Queensland coastline a disaster zone.
The meeting was attended by representatives from all relevant departments and agencies in a bid to develop a total government response to the oil spill that has polluted more than 30km of beaches on Moreton Island and the Sunshine Coast.
The disaster declaration will restrict public access to beaches affected by the oil slick and allow clean-up teams unobstructed access.
The declaration covers:
• All of Moreton Island.
• Coastal waters and beaches in the Sunshine Coast, Redcliffe and Brisbane disaster districts.
• The southern tip of Bribie Island to Point Arkwright.
Fifty people were deployed to clean up yesterday and that number will be increased to at least 100 today.
The disaster unfolded on Wednesday morning when the Hong Kong-registered ship MV Pacific Adventurer steered straight into unruly seas whipped up by Cyclone Hamish.
Pounded by waves up to 9m, 31 containers of ammonium nitrate fell overboard.
One of them ruptured the ship's hull, causing at least 30 tonnes of fuel oil to spew into the ocean The oil spill has contaminated some of the most pristine parts of the southeast coastline, killing and crippling wildlife and tainting some of Queensland's most popular beaches.
A thick oil slick, 50m wide, has spread over 30km of Moreton Island, with patches of oil also found on Bribie Island and Sunshine Coast beaches from Dickies Beach, Caloundra to Point Cartwright, Mooloolaba and from the Maroochy River to Point Arkwright.
On Moreton, the slick stretches from Eagers Creek on the ocean beach, north around Cape Moreton and on to Comboyuro Point, facing Brisbane.
The strip takes in the most popular tourist swimming spot at North Point and prime shorebird habitat at Heath Island and Tailor Bight.
Maritime Safety Queensland general manager Captain John Watkinson said most of the heavy fuel oil was ashore, meaning the slick would probably not contaminate any further.
"It's pretty nasty stuff," Capt Watkinson said.
Fears have been raised that 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate will cause deaths to fish and seagrass and prompt a toxic algal bloom in Moreton Bay.
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2009 Queensland oil spill.  200,000 litres of oil leaked into waters off the coast of Brisbane from the ''Pacific Adventurer'' when their fuel tanks were damaged in rough seas on Wednesday.  The figure is about ten times higher than the original estimate of twenty thousand litres of oil.  The devastating diesel oil spill has spread along  of the Queensland coast.  In addition, 31 containers with 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser flew overboard during the violent storm.

Questions are being asked why the Hong Kong cargo ship was out in seas with nine meter waves caused by Cyclone Hamish, a Category 5 tropical cyclone, as well as why the fertiliser containers were not properly secured. One of the overboard containers ruptured the hull of the Pacific Adventurer, causing between 30 to 100 tonnes of oil to spew from the severely damaged ship.  

If the ammonium nitrate mixes with the heavy oil, an explosion could occur. None of the containers have been recovered. Some of these may float, but it is believed that they may have sunk which then may cause algal blooms.

Disaster zones have been declared at Bribie and Moreton Islands, and along the Sunshine coast. 

The vessel's owner, Swire Shipping, reported that a second leak began on Friday, when the ship began listing after docking at Hamilton for repairs.  "As full soundings of the vessel's tanks were being taken at the port to determine how much oil had leaked from the vessel, a small quantity of fuel oil escaped from the Pacific Adventurer," it stated.  The ship was brought upright, and a recovery vessel was used to suck up the oil from the water.  The leak produced a 500m-long oil slick down the Brisbane River.  Booms were placed around this oil spill so that a skimmer could clean up the second spill.

MODIS Aqua satellite image of Severe Tropical Cyclone Hamish over the Coral Sea just off the Queensland coast.Swire Shipping could face clean up costs of AU$100,000 a day as well as fines up to AU$1.5million (US$977,000; £703,000) if found guilty of environmental breaches or negligence.

Sunshine Coast beaches are slowly starting to be reopened.  The beach of Mooloolaba was still closed following reports of burning sensations from swimmers.  12 beaches remain closed; however, 13 have been reopened.

Over 300 state government and council workers are using buckets, rakes and spades in the clean up effort.  Sunshine Coast Mayor Bob Abbott says the majority will be gone by Sunday afternoon.  The full environmental impact on wildlife is not yet known.  One turtle and seven pelicans have been found covered in oil.


There are concerns that the drinking water of Moreton Island is at risk, as the island uses water from the underground water table near the oil spill site.

"Every bucketload of contaminated sand has to be removed from the island by barge, and each bucketload from a front-end loader weighs about one tonne. It's just an impossible task,” said Mr Trevor Hassard of the Tangalooma Dolphin Education Centre.

The commercial fishing industry has suffered from the incident. Trawlers won't resume operations until Sunday evening, and any catches will be tested for human consumption.