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| Click on image for larger view. |
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| Photo from AsiaOne, 5 Jan 12 |
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| Photo of the VLCC on gCaptain |
From the MPA website
Minor oil spill following collision between Kota Tenaga and SEEB in the Strait of Singapore
MPA Press Release 5 Jan 12;
At about 2100hrs on 04 Jan 2012 (Singapore time), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) received a report that a Singapore-registered containership, Kota Tenaga and a Malta-registered VLCC, SEEB had collided at about 2.7km south of Pulau Sebarok.
The master of Kota Tenaga reported that about 5 metric tonnes of marine fuel oil had spilled into the sea. An inter-agency effort, coordinated by MPA, was immediately activated to contain and clean up the oil spill. The spillage of oil from Kota Tenaga was contained and Kota Tenaga was moved to Raffles Reserved Anchorage. An oil boom was laid around the vessel as a precaution. There is no report of injury to crew members.
A total of 12 craft was activated to monitor and clean up the oil spill. Non-toxic and biodegradable oil spill dispersants were used to break up patches of oil sighted in the vicinity of Pulau Pawai, Pulau Senang and Raffles Reserved Anchorage.
MPA continues to monitor the situation closely and will respond to any sighting of oil patches.
Traffic in the port and the Strait of Singapore remains unaffected.
MPA is investigating the cause of the collision.
ISSUED BY THE MARITIME AND PORT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE (MPA)
For clarification, please contact:
Ms Evelyn Lim
MPA media hotline: (65) 8366-2294
Email: Evelyn_Lim@mpa.gov.sg
More media articles on wildsingapore news.
What impact to our marine life?
Pulau Pawai and Pulau Senang have great mangroves and marine life as access to them is restricted. They are part of the Life Firing Range Islands. Just to the south of Pulau Senang are Raffles Lighthouse and Pulau Biola which have among our best reefs. There are also large stretches of seagrass meadows and reefs on Pulau Semakau, as well as the submerged reefs nearby Beting Bemban Besar and Terumbu Bemban.
See also NParks' survey of the oil spill area.
Sadly, since the massive oil spill in May 2010, I've already accumulated many posts about oil spills. Here's some of them.
- What can shore lovers do about an oil spill?
- Oil spills: Can it happen again?
- What is the impact of dispersants?
- How fast does crude oil biodegrade?
- What long term effects of marine life?
