The cargo ship responsible for a massive oil leak near Brisbane has been detained, officials say.
Experts say the massive oil spill smothering southeast Queensland's coastline is threatening an unprecedented environmental disaster for the region and could deteriorate further.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) CEO Graham Peachey says everything that can be done is being done to deal with the "significant spill".
"We have detained the ship, we (AMSA) have powers of detention, and it's not going anywhere until we release it," Mr Peachey told reporters.
"We will be talking to the skipper and anyone involved in it and will be doing our own investigations, we have powers under our own act to do that and that is underway."
Under the legislation the ship's owners face the possibility of up to $2 million in fines and the skipper could have to pay up to $200,000.
They may also be liable for up to $250 million for environmental damage to the shoreline.
"Not a stone will be unturned on this inquiry, we will be looking at everything, what the captain did, what the ship did, what was going on, it will be a very, very thorough investigation by our people," Mr Peachey said.
The authority sent 20 personnel and a Dornier search and rescue plane to help with the clean-up and the search for 31 containers of ammonium nitrate lost overboard during Cyclone Hamish.
"I understand that the containers are in about 150 metres of water," he said.
"We deployed our Dornier to fly over them to see if there are any bobbing around, which there aren't, so we will be looking to find out were they are and take actions to remove them."
Mr Peachey seized on criticism regarding the failure of Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) to drop chemicals on to the slick which would have helped clear it up.
"I'm confident that what could have been done has been done," he said.
MSQ says the situation is worsening by the day, even though an army of workers from state and federal agencies is involved in the clean-up, using everything from heavy machinery to rakes.
Yet as authorities focused on the damage to Moreton and Bribie islands and Sunshine Coast beaches - now declared disaster zones - more oil has been spilt into Brisbane River.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown, who flew over the Pacific Adventurer berthed at Hamilton on Friday afternoon, said there was a 500 metre long oil slick down the Brisbane River from the ship.
He said the oil had escaped a boom around the stern of the ship.
"There is a very serious oil spill now in the heart of Brisbane," Senator Brown told reporters.
"How did that happen? There's a failure down the line here."
The ship's owner Swire Shipping said the oil leak happened when the vessel, which had been listing, was being brought upright after docking at Hamilton on Friday morning, but was now under control.
Authorities say up to 100 tonnes of oil may have leaked from the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship battered by cyclonic seas off Moreton Island on Wednesday.
"(The spill) was much worse than I had anticipated and it is still possibly getting worse in some areas," MSQ general manager Captain John Watkinson told reporters.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh on Friday declared the two islands and parts of the Sunshine Coast disaster zones and said those responsible would feel the full force of the law.
"It may well be the worst environmental disaster Queensland has ever seen," Ms Bligh said.
The reason why the ship was out in cyclonic seas and how the disaster unfolded would be fully investigated, Ms Bligh said.
"If there is any grounds for prosecution of this ship and its owners we will not hesitate to take that action," she told AAP.
"We will also be pursuing them for compensation as this is going to be a very big clean-up cost and I want those ship owners to be paying for it."
The shipping company could be hit with fines of up to $1.5 million, while individuals at fault could be fined as much as $500,000.
The Queensland opposition, local wildlife carers and environmental groups have accused the government of a slow and inadequate response.
Liberal National Party leader Lawrence Springborg said Labor had failed to have an appropriate emergency plan in place to deal with an environmental disaster.
"The LNP was briefed yesterday morning and told everything was under control, only to find out last night that we have a disaster on our hands," Mr Springborg said.
Deputy Premier Paul Lucas said the response had been adequate, but the government was not told the truth about the full extent of the spill.
"When someone (the ship) has lied to you about the level of leakage of oil, then it is a very difficult situation to be in," Mr Lucas told reporters.
"This is in interstate trade in Australian waters, not Queensland waters.
"If these people have done the wrong thing in relation to misleading us, I want the book thrown at them."
Federal maritime safety authorities and the Queensland government are investigating.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has pledged federal support.
Greens MP Bob Brown criticised federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett, due to play a second concert with his reunited band Midnight Oil on Friday night, saying he was missing in action.
"The midnight oil has struck these beaches but the environmental leader's nowhere to be seen," Senator Brown told reporters in Brisbane.
"This is a very serious environmental contamination, it should never have happened."
Senator Brown said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Mr Garrett should get to the scene.
"The prime minister's ultimately got the responsibility for bringing much faster and much more broad scale aid on to those beaches," he said.
The master and crew remain on board the ship, which is berthed at Hamilton, after unloading 19 containers of the bomb-making fertiliser ammonium nitrate.
About 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in 31 containers had fallen overboard on Wednesday, which damaged the ship's hull.
An independent auditor is investigating how much oil has escaped the ship's damaged hull.
So far only about 13 animals were known to be affected by the oil, but the Environmental Protection Agency was expecting the number to rise.
Conservation group WWF says the oil spill will affect every level of the marine food chain.
Martin Taylor from WWF said everything from fish and crabs to waterbirds, dugongs and dolphins, would feel the effects.
"It's a mass poisoning event, effectively," Mr Taylor said.
"It goes away very slowly naturally, mostly through bacterial attack, and then breakup and emulsification with the action of water," he said.
"So unless people get out there and clean it up as fast as possible, that poison will kill marine life for years."
Mr Taylor said the oil not only affected the feathers of birds, it also clogged up the feeding systems of crabs and shellfish.
But it was not just the small creatures that were in danger, he warned, saying animals like dugongs, turtles and dolphins were also at risk.
"Fuel is poisonous, and very toxic," he said.
"The hydrocarbons get absorbed and end up in the tissues of the fish larger animals are eating.
"Dugongs eat seagrass and a lot of that's tidal, so when the tide goes out a lot of seagrass gets exposed and the oil will settle on it."
Mr Taylor said turtles were susceptible to the black slicks as well.
"It can affect their metabolism and make them ill and could also affect their breeding," he said.
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