An oil spill in the straits off Singapore just ahead of a key weekend for the city state’s tourism sector, has spread for kilometres despite clean-up efforts, and is now affecting not only a luxury holiday resort in the area but a protected marine reserve, the republic’s authorities say.
The incident occurred on Friday, 14 June, when a Dutch-registered dredger lost engine power and drifted into the “Marine Honour”, a Singaporean fuel tanker at the Pasir Panjang Terminal cargo port. The accident punctured the tanker’s cargo hold and caused it to lose at least half its contents – about 400 tonnes of oil. That spill, of “low sulphur fuel oil”, according to maritime and environment agencies, went straight into the sea around the city state and large quantities were washed ashore.
Immediate attempts to limit the damage went into action. There are approximately 1.5 km of oil-absorbent container booms in place near the beaches and public park waterways at East Coast Park, West Coast Park and Labrador Nature Reserve. In addition, a clean-up operation took place, using dispersant spray to “break down the surface oil into droplets to enhance its biodegradation.” Around 1500 volunteers and a contractor are also on the case and have begun digging through black deposits.
However, even oil that has been treated can be “carried by tidal currents to coastlines”, the authorities warn. Three days after the spill and nearly 10 kilometres away, the oil has reached the island resort of Sentosa, which was expecting a bumper weekend due to the Hari Raya Haji bank holiday. Now, amid tourist and observer reports of dark, oily water and the odour of fuel around the resort, swimming has been temporarily banned.
Wildlife is being impacted by the spill too, as sea snails and other marine life have been spotted “coated in oil” according to a BBC report. Although Dr Karenne Tun from the National Parks Board, speaking to the Straits Times, has insisted there is “no significant impact to marine biodiversity though oil was observed on the roots of some mangrove plants in the area,” it might however be too soon to make that judgement. Other experts and volunteers have suggested time will tell. “It is a good sign that we did not see any wildlife in distress today,” one volunteer said, “but we will have to monitor the situation. It could take a while before we see the true impacts from the oil spill.”
