Bunkering is the process of supplying fuels to ships for their own use. - Photo: ST file
SINGAPORE: An oil spill took place off Changi on Monday (Oct 28) during a bunkering operation between a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier and a licensed bunker tanker.
In a statement sent in the wee hours of Oct 29, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the incident reportedly occurred at 5.40pm and the bunkering operation ceased immediately.
According to information found on the agency’s website, bunkering is the process of supplying fuels to ships for their own use, and Singapore is one of the largest and most important bunkering ports in the world.
MPA said its craft arrived at the scene of the incident at around 5.50pm and sprayed dispersants. Dispersants are chemicals that break up oil into smaller droplets, which can be mixed with water.
There is no impact on navigational traffic, and relevant government agencies have been alerted to keep a lookout for oil sightings along local shores, said the agency.
In response to media queries, MPA said “oil which overflowed during a bunkering operation from the receiving Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier, Ines Corrado, had stopped”.
The carrier was headed towards Tianjin, China, according to a check done by The Straits Times on global ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.
An estimated five tonnes of oil was reported to have overflowed.
“As at 8am this morning, there is no oil sighted at sea in the vicinity of the incident and ashore,” MPA said, adding that the Malaysian authorities have also been alerted to keep a lookout for oil sightings.
MPA said it is investigating the matter.
It said that as a precaution, a Current Buster has been deployed off Changi to recover oil on water, if sighted.
A Current Buster system, towed by two vessels, goes to affected areas to collect contaminated seawater and sieves out oil through a pump for skimmers to collect. It can collect up to 50 cubic m of oil at a time.
This is the third incident involving an oil leak or spill in Singapore waters since June.
On June 14, several beaches in Singapore were affected by a major oil spill after one boat hit another vessel at Pasir Panjang Terminal. About 400 tonnes of fuel leaked into the sea then.
The oil spread to the coastlines of East Coast Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, Keppel Bay, the Southern Islands and Sentosa. Water activities at affected beaches were suspended for more than two months as the areas were being cleaned up.
On Oct 20, 30 to 40 tonnes of “slop” – a mix of oil and water – leaked from a land-based pipeline, belonging to British petrochemical giant Shell, between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil into the sea.
Nine government agencies worked with Shell in the clean-up effort.
As a precaution, the National Environment Agency advised people against taking part in water activities, such as swimming, near the beaches of East Coast Park, Kusu Island, St John’s Island and Lazarus Island.
The advisory was lifted on Oct 25. - The Straits Times/ANN
