A very rough estimated position of the collision based on info provided so far. The white line is about 13km long, Southeast off Changi East.Please share in the comments if you know of further details and/or see signs of the oil spill on our shores.
MPA said it 'immediately dispatched four patrol and emergency response craft to the affected area. MPA also activated oil spill response companies which have deployed three craft equipped with oil spill equipment. Both vessels are currently anchored in the Singapore Strait. Work is ongoing to contain and clean up the oil spill.'
The collision was between a tanker and a bulk carrier, causing a 10-metre tear in the left side of the tanker, from which the crude oil spilled.
A spokesman for AET, the owner of the tanker, said it "was carrying two types of cargo, some condensate and some very light crude, it was about 40 percent condensate and about 60 percent light crude on the vessel at the time of the incident. It looks though the spill would have been from the very light crude, the exact amount I can't tell you." The spokesman could not say who owns the oil. AET Tanker Holdings Sdn Bhd is a wholly owned subsidiary of international transport and energy company MISC Bhd, a unit of Petronas.
From Bloomberg Businessweek: “If you have an oil spill in a harbor, a populated area, it’s going to cause some concern,” said Stuart Traver, a downstream adviser at energy consultants Gaffney, Cline & Associates Ltd. in Singapore. “Two thousand tons of oil is not small -- most environmental organizations get upset about even smaller slicks.” The spill is equivalent to 14,660 barrels, almost enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The affected tanker has a double hull, a design meant to prevent oil leaks or flooding beyond the outer compartment.
Word about the spill was rapidly put out by shore lovers by sms and facebook. It's heartening to know that the network is quite fast and extensive.
If you have any additional information on the spill or see signs of it on our shores, please share in the comments.
Or you can also share it on the Singapore Changi East Oil Spill (25 May 2010) facebook page set up to consolidate sightings and other related aspects of the oil spill.
Thank you!
Full media articles on wildsingapore news
