Updated: 02-06-2003

Satellite image of vessel grounded on Great Barrier Reef
November 2000

ACRES acquired Landsat 7 and Radarsat satellite images showing the Malaysian container vessel, Bunga Teratai Satu, while it was stranded on the Great Barrier Reef, 22 nautical miles south-east of Cairns in Queensland in November 2000.

In the RADARSAT image below left, acquired by ACRES on 10 November using the beam mode F5, the vessel appears as a white shape (within the white oblong). Click on this image to see more detail.

 

The Landsat 7 ETM+ image above right was acquired on 4 November 2000 and shows the location of the previously stranded vessel. Click on this image to see a more detailed image, with bands 1 2 3 8 as blue green red intensity (merged data).

The Bunga Teratai Satu, reported to be carrying toxic chemicals and 1,200 tonnes of fuel, ran aground on the reef on 2 November 2000. Tugboats managed to free the three-year old vessel on 14 November. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living reef system on Earth, and was listed on the World Heritage Register in 1981.

15 November 2000