Oil spill occurs in sea off of Changi, dispersants sprayed to deal with issue
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) announced that an oil spill had occurred off Changi at 5.40pm on 28 Oct.
The incident occurred during a bunkering operation between a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier ship INES CORRADO and a licensed bunker tanker.
Bunkering refers to the supplying of fuel for use by ships, with the fuel itself being called bunker.
The Port of Singapore is the largest bunkering port in the world.
According to MPA, five tonnes of oil overflowed during the process and spilt into the sea.
Fuel cleared up by morning of 29 Oct
MPA vessels arrived at around 5.50pm and sprayed dispersants in the area.
Dispersants are chemical agents which break up an oil spill into small droplets.
The droplets then dilute throughout the water and are more easily degraded by micro-organisms.
MPA stated that no oil was spotted at sea in the vicinity of the incident as of 8am on 29 Oct.
There was also no impact on navigational traffic.
As a precaution, MPA deployed a Current Buster, a system meant to collect oil from water, off Changi in case any of the spilled fuel was spotted.
Current Buster at Changi during the 20 Oct oil spill. Source: MPA on Facebook
Relevant Singaporean government agencies and the Malaysian authorities have also been alerted to keep a lookout for oil sightings.
MPA will be investigating the incident.
Singapore’s 2nd oil spill in October
The spill also marks the third oil spill in Singapore’s waters since June and the second in October alone.
On 14 June, 400 tonnes of fuel spilt into the sea after two vessels collided at Pasir Panjang Terminal.
And on 20 Oct, an oil pipeline belonging to Shell leaked 30 to 40 tonnes of slop, a mix of oil and water, into waters off Pulau Bukom.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) put out an advisory against water activities at East Coast Park as a result.
Also read: Oil spill in waters off Pulau Bukom caused by Shell pipeline leak, containment measures activated
Oil spill in waters off Pulau Bukom caused by Shell pipeline leak, containment measures activated
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Featured image adapted from MPA.
