Pacific Adventurer oil spill 2009: Lessons past and future

In 2009, MV Pacific Adventurer lost containers over the side in a severe storm off the southern Queensland coast. Some containers punctured the ship's hull thereby releasing a considerable quantity of oil that washed on to the nearby Australian coastline. The court and other proceedings that followed continued until 2012 and are the only recent example of a significant maritime oil spill from a ship in Australia that went through the full legal procedures. These provide a suitable precedent for courts and practitioners who may be involved in a similar incident in the future. This article traces the shipping incident and the court proceedings and sets out the law as it then was and now is. It concludes by making some suggestions for future handling of similar incidents. The legislation discussed here was particular to this incident but it is similar to that in all of the States and the Northern Territory and to the Commonwealth legislation so it has parallels Australia-wide.