2 Arrested After Crashing Ship Into Australia's Great Barrier Reef

Here's an article I found interesting, not only because of the "1.9 mile long and up to 820 feet wide" gash the Chinese coal ship cut into the Great Barrier Reef, but because two Chinese operatives of the ship, the Shipmaster and the Chief Officer have been arrested and await trial on Thursday. I think this article is well written because it uses the facts of the story to display the tragedy and, while remaining objective, is able to grab hold of the attention and emotions of people from around the world that value the Great Barrier Reef as home to thousands of species of marine life. The significance of such a story is enough to appeal to most readers and people interested in the world around them.

I think it will be interesting to see what happens to the two people that have been arrested in this case. The 40th anniversary of Earth day is approaching on April 22nd, and although both suspects face fines, the ship master, responsible for the ship's movement at the time, also faces up to three years in prison..

Experts say the damage caused could take over 20 years to heal, which is optimistically speaking on the presumption that the paint that wore off of the side of the vessel, some of which is designed specifically to not allow marine life to grow, is not of the toxic variety.