Authorities have informed that moving a Chinese coal freighter that has run aground on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could take several weeks and risk sending hundreds of tons of oil onto the reef.

Officials said that the Shen Neng 1, laden with 65,000 tons of coal and 975 tons of heavy fuel oil, was traveling off course nine miles outside its authorized shipping lane at full speed when it slammed into the reef on Saturday.

By early Monday, aircraft flying over the area reported that a slick of oil from the vessel could be seen up to 2.5 miles from where it had run aground.

The 1,550-mile reef, one of Australia's main tourist attractions, is facing a threat to its coral and marine life due to the oil slick.

Patrick Quirk, general manager of maritime safety for Queensland, said that planes had been used to spray dispersant over the 2-ton oil slick.

According to the New York Times reports, Quirk said, "One of the most worrying aspects is that the ship is still moving on the reef to the action of the seas, which is doing further damage."

He further said that while a catastrophic breakup of the ship is not likely under current weather conditions, there could be a problem if the weather turns bad. The freighter's fuel tanks, rudder and double-bottom tanks have been seriously damaged.

The Times of London also reported Quirk as saying, "The continued leakage of oil is probably the best case we could expect." (With Inputs from Agencies)