Terumbu Semakau next to massive worksite

A large team surveys this large submerged reef next to Singapore's only landfill and near the petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom. There is currently a large worksite near it for repairs to the pipeline carrying crude oil to Pulau Bukom.

We still find rich reefs at the edge facing the Landfill, but elsewhere, less corals. The water seems a bit more murky that usual and sand seems to have built up on some parts of the shore. But two Giant clams are found, and the rest of the team make special finds which I will update later.

The most eye-poking animals on the shore remain the Magnificent anemones. These anemones form clumps of many individuals, apparently through division. So those with similar body colours are probably closely related. As usual, there were those with bright red, purple and white body colours. I saw some Giant carpet anemones including one right next to Magnificent anemones. Also a Fire anemone. The rest of the team saw Merten's carpet anemone. 

At the mid-water mark, I saw several patches of what seems to be the beginning of fields of Branching montipora. The reef edge facing the seawall of the Landfill is still rich with healthy corals. Mostly commonly encountered corals, but I also saw a small Acropora colony. The reef edge Pulau Semakau East seems to have fewer healthy and large corals than before.

While most of the common Boulder pore corals were alright, some were pale and one had dying tissue (bluish). Some corals had stress colours: pus-yellow, or pinkish. The rest of the team spotted some bleaching corals.

There were still many medium to large colonies of leathery soft corals of various kinds. There were also still a lot of Asparagus flowery soft corals. I didn't see any that were bleaching, although one small leathery soft coral had a layer of 'skin' which happens when the animal is trying to get rid of something on its body.

There is currently a huge worksite near Terumbu Semakau. From Port Marine Notice No. 83 of 2026 dated 24 Jun 2026: Seabed Repair Works for Aster SBM Pipeline. From 24 Jun 2026 to 21 Dec 2026. Works will be carried out by pipelaying barge “Sandpiper 1”. Anchor handling tugs, multi-cat, project material barges and pipe supply vessel will operate within the work rea, which include lifting activities for material transfer to pipelay barge.

The Aster Chemicals & Energy Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) pipeline enables Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) to offload crude oil directly to the Bukom refinery. The site is currently undergoing a US$125 million pipeline rejuvenation. Here's the huge working vessels we saw in the work site today, with Pulau Jong for scale.

Here's a photo of a VLCC moored at a yellow SBM.

Photo from gcaptain

More about Terumbu Semakau

Terumbu Semakau lies next to the Semakau Landfill and close to the petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom. 

Just as Changi Airport and Changi Beach are not the same even though they are near one another and share a name, Pulau Semakau is NOT the same as the Semakau Landfill. The Landfill was created by destroying all of Pulau Saking, and about half of the original Pulau Semakau by building a very long seawall.

The team take a closer look at a Giant clam next to the Landfill seawall.

Fortunately, the landfill was constructed and is managed in such a way that the original mangroves, seagrass meadows and reefs on Pulau Semakau were allowed to remain. It is NOT true that the construction of the Landfill created the marine life found on Pulau Semakau. The marine life was there long before the Landfill was built.

What is the fate of Terumbu Semakau?

Pulau Semakau (East), Terumbu Semakau and even Pulau Jong and Pulau Sebarok are slated for massive reclamation outlined recently in the Long-Term Plan Review.

The Singapore Blue Plan 2018

Pulau Semakau and nearby islands and submerged reefs have been recommended by the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 for Immediate Conservation Priority. The Blue Plan recommends the intertidal and subtidal marine areas of Pulau Semakau and adjacent Pulau Hantu, and Pulau Jong to be designated Marine Reserve.

The Blue Plan highlights that Pulau Semakau and its associated patch reefs comprise many ecosystems: coral reefs, mangrove areas, intertidal sandflats, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The subtidal area of Pulau Jong is larger than the terrestrial area. Pulau Hantu is a popular dive site has seen increasing interest in the past decade due to biodiversity awareness. If protection is accorded to these three islands, zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts.

DOWNLOAD the Plan, SUPPORT the Plan! More on the Singapore Blue Plan 2018 site.