Emergency teams are scrambling to contain nearly 5,000 tonnes of crude oil that leaked into the Singapore Strait after two vessels collided in the busy waterway, according to port officials.The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in its latest update that 5,000 tonnes of crude had leaked from the Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3, double its estimate just a few hours earlier.
An AFP report said that a crude oil slick about four kilometres long and one kilometre wide was spotted near the east coast of Singapore hours after the pre-dawn collision.
The stench of fuel lingered over residential districts near Changi airport into the night as some of the oil evaporated in the stifling tropical heat.
The MPA said that the Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 has been damaged in a collision with a bulk carrier MV Wally registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
According to Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency, the collision tore a 10-metre gash in the Malaysian tanker.
The tanker’s operators, Malaysia-based AET, said in a statement, “Oil booms are being placed around the leaked cargo to contain the spill.”
Nobody was injured in the accident and ship traffic in the area has not been affected by the incident that took place 13 km off Singapore in the Traffic Separation Scheme at 6.10am Tuesday, according to the release.
The Traffic Separation Scheme is a commercial channel that runs along the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
In the aftermath of the accident, both vessels were anchored off Singapore and neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia have been notified.
Singapore’s MPA said a total of 20 vessels from Singapore and Malaysia were involved in the cleanup effort while 200 personnel were on standby to attend to coastal areas that might be affected by the slick.
It also said the damaged double-hulled tanker — designed to minimise cargo spillage in case of an accident — was carrying almost 62,000 tonnes of crude.
Ho Yew Weng, response and projects manager of disaster management firm Oil Spill Response Singapore, told AFP, “It seems to be a lot but if it is light crude, it will just evaporate.”
Ho added that Singapore’s hot climate would make the crude disperse even faster, and with the oil’s prolonged exposure to the sun since morning, “a lot of evaporation would have taken place”.
