The oil spill from Tuesday morning’s collision between two large vessels has been spotted along a 700-metre stretch of Changi Beach.
According to a Channel NewsAsia report, oil patches were also spotted along Chek Jawa’s 150-metre stretch of its coastal boardwalk, which is popular among nature lovers. Clean up operations are underway at these locations.
Environmental groups are closely monitoring the situation and have expressed concern that the oil slick will hurt Singapore’s precious coastal wildlife.
Louis Ng, executive director of activist group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, told AFP, “If it more or less hits the sands, it’s mainly the invertebrates like the crabs, the sea snails that will likely be affected.”
According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), it will conduct a study on the environmental impact of the oil spill once the clean up is completed.
As for East Coast Parkway, the NEA said the situation has stablised as large patches of oil have been removed by dispersants.
S’PORE CLOSES BEACHES AS OIL SPILL SPREADS
Singapore closes its beaches along 7.2 kilometers of its east coast as an oil spill from a damaged tanker continues to spread.
According to the Associated Press, oil dispersants and 3,300 metres of containment booms deployed by officials have been unsuccessful in keeping the slick from fouling the coast.
A pungent stench now envelopes the eastern coastline, a place normally crowded with families roller-blading, cycling and dining at some of the island’s best seafood restaurants on weekends.
Spots of rust-coloured oil was spotted floating next to a breaker wall at a ferry terminal while the nearby National Sailing Center shuts its doors to hundreds of school students.
Ho Shufen, a manager at the sailing centre, tells AP, “The smell was so bad yesterday, it made me nauseous. I don’t expect anyone would want to come here until the smell is gone.”
The National Environment Agency said it would take “the next few days” to clean up the coastline and advises the public to stay away from the affected beaches.
S’PORE OIL SPILL ‘CONTAINED’, CLEANUP CONTINUES
An AET spokesperson told AFP that the leaked crude was “more or less contained” and “won’t spread” out of the cleanup zone.
“The incident caused significant damage to the vessel’s hull and resulted in a spill of Bintu light crude oil that is now being cleaned up by specialists using a small armada of boats,” he said in a statement.
The Malaysia-based company told AFP, “Efforts resumed early this morning, with the addition of more than 100 personnel deployed along the shoreline in case the spill reaches the coast.”
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.
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 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.
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”.
Although the stench of fuel lingered over residential districts near Changi airport into the night, the smell was gone by the morning as joggers enjoyed the fresh morning breeze.
“If they manage to contain it, then it won’t affect wildlife that much,” Louis Ng, executive director of activist group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society tells AFP.
According to Singapore food-industry officials, 51 offshore aquaculture farms near the spill were loaned canvas skirting to cover their underwater nets and prevent any leaked oil from contaminating their fish.
