Chinese ship might have to pay $120 million in Great Barrier Reef clean-up

The Australian government wants millions of dollars from a Chinese company after its ship, the Shen Neng 1, ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef in April 2010.

In a Federal Court hearing Tuesday, the government asked for A$120 million ($92 million) from Shenzhen Energy Transport to clean up the 40-hectare (100-acre) crash site. The company is fighting the bill.

The ship went off course and was grounded in Douglas Shoal, which lies in the southern reaches of the iconic reef, causing extensive damage. Headed for Bayuquan, China the ship was carrying coal when it veered off course.

Of particular concern to the government were the paint particles that spilled onto the reef from the ship during the incident, which the government said included a toxic ingredient called tributyltin.

Tributyltin was used as an anti-fouling agent on ships to slow marine organic growth on ship hulls. The substance is now banned internationally, and was thought to be a culprit in causing sea snails to switch their gender.

The government said hundreds of kilograms of paint flakes had leached into the reef area, ABC News reported.

"The poison, the contaminant in a flake, will be there as long as the flake is there," barrister for the Commonwealth, Martin Scott, told the court. "Not all of these flakes are just sitting on the surface, some of them have become mixed into the sediment for example."

In court, Shenzhen Energy Transport said the demanded costs were unrealistic. It also argued the reef was "self-healing," making a clean-up effort unnecessary.

In an impact assessment report issued in 2011, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) said the incident had caused "severe physical damage" as well as "considerable contamination by toxic chemicals."

According to the GBRMPA, the area features an abundance of sponges and corals, in addition to a diversity of fish life.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.