After a collision between two ships off Singapore, the authorities in the Asian country are battling a massive oil spill that has now spread to coastal areas and a nature reserve. According to reports from CNN, a collision occurred last Friday (June 15) between the Dutch-flagged dredger “Vox Maxima” and the Singapore-based fuel supply ship “Marine Honor”. The cargo tank of the supply ship was damaged, causing around 400 tons of oil to leak into the sea, according to reports.
The oil spill first spread from the busy Pasir Panjang Cargo Terminal. The accident occurred at the start of the Hari Raya Haji long weekend, when many locals and tourists visited the island and other tourist attractions.
Although the authorities sealed the ship’s leak shortly after the collision and treated the leaked oil with dispersants, the oil spread along the coast due to the tidal current, CNN reports. The pollution also reached the holiday island of Sentosa and a nature reserve, a coastal nature reserve with mangroves. The authorities deployed 18 boats for the clean-up work and deployed about 1,500 meters of floating barriers.
According to the “Tages-Anzeiger”, efforts to contain the oil slick are in full swing. Workers in protective overalls shoveled contaminated sand away from the blackened water on the popular holiday island of Sentosa on Sunday. “In the next few days, further barriers will be erected to prevent the oil from spreading further along the coast,” Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said, according to reports in the “Tages-Anzeiger”.
The exact ecological damage is still unclear, but local conservation organizations such as Marine Stewards have already posted pictures of oil-smeared birds and coastlines on their Facebook page. “There have been many cases of affected wildlife – several kingfishers, otters and monitor lizards were covered in oil, as well as seabirds with oil-smeared legs. Dead fish and a dead sea snake have also been reported,” explained Sue Ye, founder of Marine Stewards, as reported by CNN.
Clean-up operations were still ongoing on Monday, with about 100 workers deployed on Sentosa’s beaches, a spokesman for the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said. Sentosa’s beaches remain open to the public, but swimming and water sports have been banned on Tanjong, Palawan and Siloso beaches on the island’s west coast, the SDC added.
According to the “Tages-Anzeiger”, tourists on Sentosa report black, oil-contaminated beaches and a strong stench in the air, even three days after the incident.
Singapore is considered a global shipping and bunkering hub along a narrow, busy strait that connects the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea. Due to the high shipping density of around 1,000 ships per day in this important waterway, such incidents occur again and again.
Last February, a similar disaster occurred in the Caribbean. A ship that mysteriously capsized caused a significant oil spill on the popular holiday resorts of Trinidad and Tobago. The south coast of the island of Tobago was particularly affected by the oil pollution.
The oil spill extended over a coastline of about 15 kilometers. The government declared a national emergency.
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