Almost two months after an oil spill blackened Singapore’s shorelines, all the beaches at East Coast Park have reopened to the public.
In a Facebook post on Sunday (11 Aug), the National Parks Board (NParks) said the reopening comes after cleaning was completed at all its beachfronts.
Source: NParks on Facebook
It’s now safe for the public to access the East Coast Park beachfront and take part in “non-primary contact water sports”, NParks said.
That includes kayaking and other activities that involve minimal contact with water.
Source: Google Maps
However, the public is advised against swimming, as well as primary contact water activities such as wakeboarding and stand-up paddling.
No date was given as to when such activities would resume.
In a Facebook post on 22 July, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said the authorities would have to ensure water quality has returned to normal and is stable before swimming and water sports can resume.
NParks thanked the volunteers who helped with the clean-up efforts.
Ms Fu shared on Facebook 20 July that volunteers were mobilised for the final phase of oil spill clean-up operations along the East Coast.
Source: Grace Fu on Facebook
Before the clean-up session, they received a safety briefing from Public Hygiene Council staff and were also reminded to stay hydrated and take breaks.
She thanked them for their help, saying it was heartening to see the community coming together.
On 7 Aug, Ms Fu said in Parliament that the clean-up of Singapore’s beaches and coastal areas was progressing well.
Beaches would be reopened as clean-up operations are completed, with several parts of East Coast Park already reopened for land-based activities, she added.
The cleaning of all affected beaches was planned to be completed “within the next one month or so”, she revealed.
Volunteers were mobilised to participate only in the final phase of the clean-up, to accelerate the reopening of the beaches.
The oil spill on 14 June caused the closure of beaches in East Coast Park as oil landed along several of Singapore’s shorelines, including those in Sentosa, Labrador Nature Reserve, Southern Islands and Marina South Pier.
The oil spill was the result of an allision between a Netherlands-flagged dredger, Vox Maxima, and a stationary Singapore-flagged bunker vessel, Marine Honour, at the Pasir Panjang Terminal, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
An allision is when a moving ship runs into another ship that is stationary.
It occurred after the dredger experienced “a sudden loss in engine and steering control”, according to a joint statement from the authorities.
The incident tore a hole in one of the Marine Honour’s oil cargo tanks, spilling its contents of low-sulphur fuel oil into the sea.
About 400 metric tonnes (400,000kg) of oil was released into the sea, said MPA Chief Executive Teo Eng Dih on LinkedIn.
Also read: Clean-up efforts: How NEA is clearing oil-soaked sand from East Coast Park beaches after oil spill
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Featured image adapted from NParks on Facebook.
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