Qld unlikely to recover oil spill costs

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh admits there may be little her government can do to recover the full clean-up cost of the state's worst environmental disaster.

The massive clean-up of southern Queensland beaches occurred after a cargo ship spilled 270 tonnes of fuel oil into Moreton Bay in March.

The shipping industry has thrown its weight behind the owner of the Pacific Adventurer, saying the company is meeting its obligations and to go beyond that could jack up business costs.

Swire Shipping has said it is legally liable under international maritime law for only $14.5 million of the clean-up bill, estimated to be $34 million.

However Swire Shipping says it has guaranteed $20 million towards the clean-up, having already spent another $2 million in the days following the incident.

Shipping Australia chief executive Llew Russell said members met with disbelief Sunday's calls from the premier and federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese for Swire Shipping to pay all clean-up costs.

Mr Russell said Australia is a party to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims.

"The company is meeting its full responsibility under that convention and in fact the ship's insurance has already provided financial security for up to $20 million and the company provided even on top of that $2 million of assistance with the clean-up," he said.

"If Australia ignores the application of this convention then insurance costs for ships trading to and from Australia will skyrocket - if one can obtain insurance at all for what in effect would be an uninsurable risk."

Having on Sunday demanded that Swire Shipping meet the full cost of the clean-up, Ms Bligh on Monday admitted there may be little her government can do to recover the money.

"Certainly, the early advice indicates that there's limited options for pursuing any legal action against the company," Ms Bligh told reporters on the Gold Coast.

She said if there was any chance Queensland could recoup the money through the courts, it would go ahead.

The Queensland fishing industry is preparing just such a course of action, said Queensland Fishing Industry Association president Michael Gardner.

Mr Gardner said the Pacific Adventurer spill had shut down fishing for a time, affected consumer confidence and impacted on wholesalers and retailers.

Prawn trawlers continue to suffer losses because they are banned from the area where 31 containers, also spilled from the Pacific Adventurer, are lying on the sea floor.

"Everybody associated with the industry suffered some sort of an impact," Mr Gardner said.

Mr Gardner said the industry wants the 31 containers, which were located by the Royal Australian Navy, to be removed.

The fishing industry will have no choice but to take legal action "unless Swire are prepared to make an effort to determine what they would be prepared to enter into in terms of compensation", Mr Gardner said.