Singapore continues to clean up oil spill from ships collision

Singapore continued on Wednesday the efforts to contain and clean up the oil slick following the collision between a tanker and bulk carrier.

A Malaysian-registered tanker, MT Bunga Kelana 3 and the St Vincents and The Grenadines-registered bulk carrier, MV Waily collided at about 06:03 a.m. local time on Tuesday, with some 2, 500 tons of crude oil spilled into the sea. No injuries were reported.

A helicopter recce by the Republic of Singapore Air Force found an oil slick measuring 4 km by one km located about 6 km south of Changi East on Tuesday afternoon.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said that non-toxic and bio-degradable oil spill dispersants were used to break up the oil slick into smaller globules and containment booms were used to contain and prevent the oil slick from hitting the coastlines.

At around 02:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, small patches of oil and sheen were sighted at Changi Naval Base. Six response craft equipped with dispersants were on site to manage the oil and sheen.

Other than this, the oil slick has not affected Singapore's coastlines. The waters in Singapore's anchorages and the straits were reported to be clean.

As of Wednesday noon, 15 craft and more than 120 personnel were deployed as part of the containment and clean up efforts. 3,300 meters of containment booms are being used to contain the oil slick.

The MPA said that weather, tidal and wind conditions play an important role in the containment of the oil slick. Efforts to contain and clean up the oil slick are continuing. Traffic in the Singapore Straits remains unaffected.

Source: Xinhua