Beached ship leaks oil in Australia, partially dislodged

SYDNEY, July 2 (Reuters) A 225-metre coal bulkship leaked oil into the sea as it was partially dislodged from an Australian beach, but the impact of the spill was minimal, authorities said today.

Three weeks after it was driven ashore near Newcastle, north of Sydney, salvage crews using three tugs and winching equipment dragged the bow of the Pasha Bulker away from the beach, although the ship's stern remains stuck.

Salvage workers hope to make a new attempt to drag the ship back into deeper water at the next high tide, but were working today to assess an oil spill from the 40,000 tonne vessel.

''More than 60 oil-spill response experts are monitoring the situation,'' state Ports Minister Joe Tripodi said, adding the spill appeared minor and was unlikley to reach the shoreline.

A spokeswoman for Newcastle Port Corporation said the ship had been turned to face the sea but operations had ''paused''.

Soon after the big coal carrier became stranded on June 8, 700 tonnes of fuel oil in the vessel was pumped to tanks high up in the ship to minimise the possibility of a spill.

Salvage experts have been waiting for weeks for a king tide before they attempted to pull the bow of the empty Pasha Bulker away from the beach near the world's biggest coal port.

An earlier attempt to refloat the ship late on Thursday failed when cables attached to tugs and winches snapped under strain.

The Pasha Bulker has become a tourist attraction over the past three weeks, with thousands of people going to its resting place at Nobby's Beach to take photographs and watch as salvage workers prepared the ship for rescue.

The ship was one in a queue of more than 50 vessels waiting at sea to load coal at Newcastle when it was driven onto the beach by powerful winds and seas.

Authorities have said the Pasha Bulker is holding up well since it was beached, although it has a hole in its hull. The full extent of any damage will only be seen when divers examine the hull after re-floating of the ship.

The Panamanian-flagged vessel is owned by Japan's Fukujin Kisen Kaisha on charter to Denmark's Lauritzen Bulkers.

Reuters KK VP0720