Sydney - Australian officials on Thursday said a "very tired" sailor's simple navigation errors caused a cargo ship to ground and badly damage the Great Barrier Reef, as two crew faced court over the crash.
A preliminary report into the April 3 foundering, which leaked tons of oil and threatened a major ecological disaster, said the Chinese officer piloting the giant Shen Neng 1 had slept only two and a half hours in the previous 37 hours.
"The first mate had had a very busy time while the ship was in Gladstone (port) loading and he had had only two and a half hours of broken sleep in the previous 37 hours," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said.
"In essence, a simple succession of errors on the part of a very tired crew member had resulted in the grounding," it added.
Ship's master Wang Jichang, 47, and crewmate Wang Xuegang, 44, appeared in court charged over the accident and were bailed to appear on June 9. Wang Xuegang was forced to surrender his passport.
The ship's master is charged with liability for a ship which caused damage to the world heritage-listed reef, and faces a fine up to $55 000 (about R404 065,29).
His colleague, who is accused of being in charge of the 230-metre ship - the length of two football fields - when it crashed, could be handed a three-year jail term and a maximum $220 000 fine.
Australia's government has voiced outrage over the crash and vowed stiff punishment. The huge ship was stranded for nine days, gouging a three-kilometre scar in the coral, before salvagers refloated it on Monday.
The transport bureau's preliminary report showed that the ship navigated away from the normal shipping lane to cut a corner, but then failed to get back on track and ploughed straight into Douglas Shoal.
The crew failed to programme the ship's GPS system with the new route and the first mate, distracted by a visit to the bridge by the chief engineer, overshot the point where the ship was supposed to re-enter the shipping lane.
"At this time he realised that the ship was past the amended alteration point and was very close to Douglas Shoal," the report said.
"He attempted to alter course at the last minute but this action was too late and shortly thereafter the ship grounded at a speed of about 12 knots (20 kilometres per hour)."
Australia's AAP news agency said it had seen a radar image of another bulk carrier using the same short-cut just a day later, indicating the illicit route was commonly used.
"It just illustrates how often that channel is being used and also having a ship run aground was no deterrent," an industry source was quoted as saying.
"They saw the ship aground there and they still pushed through, that's the thing that astounds me."
Officials have promised to investigate alleged short-cuts through the reef, which is the world's biggest and counted as one of its greatest environmental treasures.
Three crew from another ship faced magistrates last week, charged with taking an illegal route through a different part of the reef, which stretches along 2,300 kilometres of northeastern coast.
Conservationists say the incidents highlight the environmental risks of Australia's booming resources exports to Asia, which are fuelling a strong recovery from the global financial crisis. - AFP