Queensland fishermen on legal warpath against Swire

QSIA chief executive Winston Harris said Swire had been in contact with QSIA insofar as the company's lawyers had sought information on the amount of fishing, especially for prawns, carried out in Moreton Bay.

While he could not estimate the likely total amount of claims from his members, he said that sales were down 50% since the spill.

About 31 containers remain on the seabed around Moreton Bay after they fell from 23,737dwt Pacific Adventurer in March.

Mr Harris said that while deep-sea prawn fishermen were having a good season, there were still problems closer to the coast.

"Apart from the safety issues there is obviously an exclusion and a buffer zone around the containers but they are right in the middle of prime trawling grounds," Mr Harris told Lloyd's List DCN.

"The incident occurred in the lead up to Easter, one of our busiest times of the year, so the impact has been quite significant and we trust that Swire Shipping will do the right thing by the people who have been affected."

Mr Harris told another new outlet last week that 25 litigants were involved but told Lloyd's List DCN that this number had almost certainly risen.

QSIA is referring individual members to a specific law firm which is acting on behalf on a no-win, no-fee basis.

"The firm is looking at each case individually and has lot of experts in that area," Mr Harris said.

"So far they are saying that they believe the cases they are working on are robust and they will take action forward on that basis."

QSIA has a good relationship with the Queensland premier Anna Bligh's office and Mr Harris expressed confidence that she would press its case strongly in her meeting with Swire today.

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Anna Bligh responds to Swire - full transcript

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