Diesel oil leak at Brani Regional Base, no oil slicks seen
A damaged fuel hose at the Police Coast Guard Brani Regional Base resulted in a leak of some 23 tonnes of diesel oil into the surrounding waters on the morning of 5 Feb.
A joint statement by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Singapore Police Force (SPF), and National Environment Agency (NEA) confirmed that a leak was discovered at around 11.40am.
It was eventually isolated at about 3.40pm.
The diesel oil came from a damaged shore fuel hose used to refuel patrol craft at Selat Sengkir.
Spill response resources deployed
The Police Coast Guard and MPA have deployed patrol craft and “spill response resources” to clean up “small patches of light oil sheens” in the southern waters, said the release.
The authorities said no oil slicks were observed, adding that navigational traffic in the area remained unaffected.
Additionally, there was no impact to operations at the Port of Singapore.
According to The Straits Times, this marks at least the fifth oil spill incident in Singapore’s waters since June 2024.
Land and water activities remain unaffected in Sentosa
Sentosa also issued an update on its Facebook page on 6 Feb at 9pm, stating that no oil sightings or smells were detected at any of its beaches.
Therefore, the waters at Tanjong, Palawan, and Siloso Beach remain open to guests.
Source: Sentosa
As a precautionary measure, Sentosa has deployed a combination of oil absorbent and deflective booms around the beaches to safeguard their shores and marine environment.
It will continue to monitor the situation closely with the relevant agencies, and guests are welcome to enjoy the beaches and other land and water activities.
Previous oil spills in Singapore
In June 2024, Sentosa had to close all its beaches after an allision between the Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima and the Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour at Pasir Panjang Terminal led to a significant oil spill.
More than 400 tonnes of oil were released into the waters, including those near Labrador Nature Reserve, Sentosa, East Coast Park, the Southern Islands and Changi, prompting a large-scale clean-up operation that involved hundreds of personnel and over 2,000 volunteers.
Source: Christopher Brown on Facebook
Sentosa later said that it had removed about 140,000kg of oil-soaked sand from its beaches.
In October 2024, Shell reported that 30 to 40 metric tonnes of “slop” — a mixture of oil and water — had leaked from one of its pipelines into the sea.
That same month, 5 tonnes of oil was said to have overflowed during bunkering operations between a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier and a licensed bunker tanker.
Also read: Sentosa beaches closed due to oil spill, clean-up operations underway
Sentosa beaches closed due to oil spill, clean-up operations underway
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Police Force.
