The drill took place 3 nautical miles, or about 5.5km, off East Coast Park and played out a scenario which involved the collision between an oil tanker and chemical tanker at the Eastern Anchorage, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement.

Led by the MPA, the drill, code-named 'ChemSpill 2009', was part of the 6th International Chemical and Oil Pollution Conference & Exhibition (ICOPCE), one of the events to mark Singapore Maritime Week.

MPA organised its first chemical spill exercise in 1998 as a platform for interagency cooperation to enhance Singapore's level of readiness in mitigating the effects of spills at sea.