By Andrew Wight
The Pacific Adventurer will stay put for the time being, after Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) rejected a plan by the owners to move the stricken ship.
The Pacific Adventurer caused two separate oil leaks and dumped 31 containers of ammonium nitrate in Moreton Bay after it encountered wild weather during its journey from Newcastle up the east coast two weeks ago.
A file photo of the Pacific Adventurer.
An MSQ spokesman said Swire Shipping is reworking proposals to move the Hong Kong-flagged ship to Fisherman's Island to unload its remaining cargo after it failed some benchmarks set by MSQ for safe transit.
"The Pacific Adventurer won't be moved until we are very, very certain that another oil leak won't occur," the spokesman said.
"We don't want a leak like the one when the ship came into the river."
The spokesman said that when the latest proposal is finished, Swire will have to satisfy MSQ before the ship can move.
"Meetings are ongoing today, the oil containment booms remain in place and the ship remains at Portside Wharf," he said.
The Pacific Adventurer is moored just across the river from where two Huon-class minesweepers are docked at Bulimba, after their hunt for the containers of ammonium nitrate was suspended in rough seas.
The Royal Australian Navy's Commander Dean Schopen said HMAS Yarra headed back out to Moreton Bay this morning, while HMAS Norman remained in Brisbane to resupply.
On the beaches affected by the oil spill, clean-up work continues slowly and steadily, with a disaster declaration for Moreton Island to remain in place until Thursday.
A sand-sifting machine called "Sid" was deployed on Moreton Island yesterday to assist with the clean-up. Since Sunday, more than 90 tonnes of contaminated sand have been removed from Moreton Island.
On the Sunshine Coast, Mudjimba Beach is now free of oil, clean-up continues between Lake Currimundi and Point Cartwright and on Bribie Island strong winds have blown away sand that had covered oil patches.