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| Oil from Jun 2024 Pasir Panjang spill washed up on seagrass meadows at East Coast Park. |
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Repeated oil spill events compromise marine wildlife already under stress
Chin Hui Shan Straits Times 7 Feb 2025
SINGAPORE – The marine environment might recover after each oil spill incident, but too many of such events would compromise its ability to do so, said marine scientists.
Singapore has had at least five incidents of oil spilling into its waters since June 2024, with the latest reported one taking place on Feb 5.
About 23 tonnes of diesel oil had leaked from the Police Coast Guard Brani Regional Base in southern Singapore. This was discovered at 11.40am on Feb 5 and the leak was “isolated” at about 3.40pm on the same day, the authorities said.
Dr Chim Chee Kong, a research fellow at the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI), told The Straits Times that oil spill incidents will further degrade Singapore’s marine environment, which is already heavily impacted by other stressors like urbanisation and climate change.
“If oil spills occur too often, even species that are seemingly tolerant of environmental degradation might not have ample time to recover after the series of unfortunate events,” he said.
In response to ST’s queries, the National Parks Board (NParks) said it is aware of the negative impact spills can have on biodiversity and is closely monitoring the current situation.
“When NParks is informed of an oil spill incident, depending on factors such as oil type, spill volume, tides and weather conditions, NParks can carry out precautionary booming around biodiversity-sensitive sites to ensure they are protected from spills during incidents,” said Dr Karenne Tun, group director at its National Biodiversity Centre.
Efforts to manage and respond to oil spills are carried out in close coordination and collaboration with agencies and industry partners, she added.
The diesel oil that leaked into the waters on Feb 5 disperses faster than bunker oil and evaporates within days, according to Assistant Professor Yuen Kum Fai of NTU’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
While diesel oil is lighter and easier to clean compared with the thicker bunker oil, it spreads quickly and is still toxic, and can coat marine organisms, he added.
Bunker oil – 400 tonnes of which were spilt on June 14, 2024, in Singapore’s worst such event in a decade – forms a thick, tar-like substance that can prevent sunlight from reaching the seafloor, affecting corals, Prof Yuen said.
It can also coat marine animals and birds that feed on marine life.
In the short term, all kinds of oil spills can poison marine animals and cause immobility of animals like birds if they come into contact with the oil, said Assistant Professor Yan Ran, who is also from NTU’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
In the long run, toxic substances may accumulate in marine animals as well as degrade habitats in and around the waters, she said.
Any chemicals introduced into the ocean can have harmful and long-lasting effects on marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, said Assistant Professor Kyle Morgan from NTU’s Asian School of the Environment.
“Oil spills are especially unpredictable because their spread and impact depend on local currents and tides at the time,” he added.
It is critical to minimise additional stressors like oil spills, especially when marine environments like coral reefs are already under “significant stress” from human activities and are still recovering from the global coral bleaching event in 2024, he said.
Dr Tan Koh Siang, principal research fellow at TMSI, said marine life is directly smothered by oil that lands on shorelines. Oil spill events may also have harmful effects along the food chain as marine life consumes the oil.
While most of the diesel oil may be removed within a few hours by evaporation and dispersion, given the current warm and breezy weather, he said organisms on the sea surface such as jellyfish and large and small plankton can be affected when they come into contact with the oil. Larger animals like otters and crocodiles can swim away.
Dr Tan added that hydrocarbons, which are organic compounds found in crude oil, can remain in the environment for a long time and are harmful to living things.
However, the hydrocarbons are food for bacteria, which can help speed up the degradation and dispersion of crude oil. As the oil and gas industry, as well as shipping, has a large presence in Singapore, he said “it would be naive to assume that there are no bacterial communities waiting for a hydrocarbon feast on our coastlines”.
Dr Chim said the effects of oil spills on local biodiversity need to be further researched. Long-term effects require long-term monitoring studies, which are currently lacking.
In October 2024, a 15-month plan was launched by NParks with partners from TMSI, St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory and the National Institute of Education to monitor the impact of the June 14 oil spill on biodiversity in intertidal areas. Researchers will collect sediment samples from areas affected and unaffected by the oil spill, to find out the impact of the toxic slick on the tiny organisms in the sediment, such as crustaceans, worms and molluscs.
The data collected will be used to develop possible mitigation and restoration strategies to protect and restore key biodiversity areas.
NParks added that it will assess if there is a need to include the Feb 5 incident in this study.
The data collected during this initial phase will be assessed before the team suggests possible mitigation and restoration measures to protect and restore biodiversity areas of importance in Singapore.
Dr Chim added that oil spills will most likely have greater impact on animals such as worms and small crustaceans that live inside sediment.
Mr Lester Tan, chairman of the Nature Society Singapore’s marine conservation group, said that a prudent and immediate response to oil spills can help safeguard Singapore’s marine habitat.
Transparency in the aftermath of an oil spill regarding possible spread locations is also crucial, he said, adding that “stakeholders can help to keep an eye out for the possible spread of the spill”.
“It is devastating should any oil spill find its way into our marine ecosystem,” he said.
“Clean-ups are often mammoth efforts and require resources. Restoration of habitats is not easy. Some damage is not reversible and has lasting effects.”
ST has contacted the police and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore for more information.
Related links
- How do the professionals deal with oil spills?
- Oil spill exercise: The solution to pollution still dilution?
- Are we helping or harming when we 'clean' oiled mangroves?
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