State of emergency on Sentosa: Oil spill threatens Singapore’s popular holiday destination

After a collision between two ships off Singapore, the authorities of the Asian country are battling a massive oil spill that has now spread to coastal areas and a nature reserve. According to reports from CNN Last Friday (June 15), there was a collision between the Dutch-flagged dredger “Vox Maxima” and the Singapore-based fuel supply vessel “Marine Honor”. The supply vessel’s cargo tank was damaged, causing around 400 tons of oil to leak into the sea, according to reports.

The oil spill first spread from the busy Pasir Panjang Cargo Terminal. The accident occurred at the start of the Hari Raya Haji long weekend, when many locals and tourists visited the island and other tourist attractions.

Clean-up work in Singapore is in full swing

Although the authorities sealed the ship’s leak shortly after the collision and treated the leaked oil with dispersants, the oil spread along the coast due to the tidal current, CNN reports. The pollution also reached the holiday island of Sentosa and a nature reserve, a coastal nature reserve with mangroves. The authorities deployed 18 boats for the clean-up work and deployed about 1,500 meters of floating barriers.

Efforts to contain the oil spill are ongoing, according to “Daily Advertiser” in full swing. Workers in protective overalls shoveled contaminated sand away from the blackened water on the popular holiday island of Sentosa on Sunday. “In the next few days, further barriers will be erected to prevent the oil from spreading further along the coast,” said Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority, according to reports in the “Tages-Anzeiger”.

Environmental damage is still unclear

The exact ecological damage is still unclear, but local conservation organizations such as Marine Stewards have already posted pictures of oil-smeared birds and coastlines on their Facebook page. “There have been many cases of affected wildlife – several kingfishers, otters and monitor lizards were covered in oil, as well as seabirds with oil-smeared legs. Dead fish and a dead sea snake have also been reported,” explained Sue Ye, founder of Marine Stewards, as reported by CNN.

Swimming still prohibited

Clean-up operations were still ongoing on Monday, with about 100 workers deployed on Sentosa’s beaches, a spokesman for the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said. Sentosa’s beaches remain open to the public, but swimming and water sports have been banned on Tanjong, Palawan and Siloso beaches on the island’s west coast, the SDC added.

According to the “Tages-Anzeiger”, tourists on Sentosa report black, oil-contaminated beaches and a strong stench in the air, even three days after the incident.

Singapore is considered a global shipping and bunkering hub along a narrow, busy strait that connects the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea. Due to the high shipping density of around 1,000 ships per day in this important waterway, such incidents occur again and again.

Last February, a similar disaster occurred in the Caribbean. A ship that mysteriously capsized caused a significant oil spill on the popular holiday resorts of Trinidad and Tobago. The south coast of the island of Tobago was particularly affected by the oil pollution.

The oil spill extended over a coastline of about 15 kilometers. The government declared a national emergency.