Oil major Shell, which has a refinery in Singapore, said on 21 October that 30 to 40 tonnes of slop, a mixture of oil and water, leaked from its land-based pipeline into the sea.
Shell is now working with Singapore government agencies, namely Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), National Environment Agency, National Parks Board, PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, Sentosa Development Corporation, Singapore Food Agency, Singapore Land Authority and the Building and Construction Authority, to clean up the leakage.
Shell said: “The leak has stopped since around 3 pm on 20 October. We have deployed containment booms, anti-pollution crafts and spraying of dispersant to contain and break up the oil as part of ongoing clean-up effort. Our priority is to ensure the safety of people and to limit environmental impact as we work on resolving this as quickly as possible. We appreciate the support and cooperation from authorities and our communities as we work diligently to minimise the impact.”
The government agencies said that as of 3 pm local time on 21 October, there were no other oil sightings besides the leaked oil in the channel between Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kecil.
MPA has assigned a current buster system at the entrance to the East Johor Strait to collect oil slicks, and prevent potential spread beyond Singapore’s port waters. Another buster system has also been deployed to the west of Singapore as a precautionary measure.
While no oil has been observed at the resort island of Sentosa, Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, East Coast Park and West Coast Park so far, oil absorbent booms have been placed at these locations.
The agencies added: “Additionally, deflective booms will be progressively deployed across the key areas of Sentosa, including the three beaches which currently remain open for land-based and waters activities.”
PUB said that seawater quality readings remain normal, and that it has placed oil containment booms across Marina Barrage.
In May, Shell sold its Singapore refineries, including the Pulau Bukom facility, to CAPGC, a joint venture comprising Indonesia’s Chandra Asri Capital and global commodities trader Glencore, to reduce its carbon emissions and unlock liquidity. The transaction is expected to be finalised at year-end.
On 14 June, Singapore suffered its worst oil spill in a decade when the Van Oord dredger Vox Maxima allegedly lost propulsion and hit a bunker tanker, Marine Honour, which was fuelling an Evergreen boxship off Pasir Panjang Terminal. The impact damaged Marine Honour’s tank and caused 400 tonnes of fuel oil to spill into the sea. The clean-up, involving Sentosa and other beaches, was completed on 3 September.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
