Barge grounded off Sentosa’s Tanjong Beach towed away safely: MPA
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SINGAPORE – A container barge ran aground off Sentosa’s Tanjong Beach on the morning of June 6 and was later safely towed away to an anchorage for inspection and investigation.
The incident damaged a portion of the floating security barriers off Sentosa, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in an update at around 12.35pm.
Ms Kong Pei Ling, a kayak guide at eco-tour agency Kayakasia, said she saw the barge when she reached the beach at about 7.15am.
The barge was blocking the lagoon and had destroyed some floating sea barriers, she added.
“We were getting ready to start our kayak trip around the coast of Sentosa, but we couldn’t launch because of the barge, so we left for Palawan Beach instead,” said Ms Kong.
A beachgoer who wanted to be known only as Melvin said: “I thought that it was strange because this is not a place to unload containers.”
The 42-year-old, who was visiting the beach with his family, later realised that the barge was probably stuck.
In an earlier statement, MPA said there were no reports of injuries or pollution and that the barge, Marco Polo 802, remained stable.
“There is no impact to navigational safety,” said MPA, adding that the beach remains open to the public.
A post about the incident on the Sentosa Facebook page said there was no oil spillage.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Sentosa Development Corporation and National Parks Board said there is “some marine biodiversity” in the area.
Both organisations will assess the environmental impact of the incident once tidal conditions allow them to do so.
Dr Jani Tanzil, facility director at St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, said some coral communities and seagrass were likely to have regenerated where the barge was grounded.
This is due to little development of the area’s coastline over nearly 20 years and the similar habitat nearby, she added.
Overall, the incident is not expected to have a severe impact on marine biodiversity in the area, based on its location and photos, but a thorough survey is still necessary, she noted.
She said: “Any impact to marine life and habitat in the area, however minor, should be accounted for.
“There could be rare marine life we don’t know about or other unforeseen damage to the area, so the post-grounding survey must be done to really ascertain the extent of impact.”
Vessel groundings account for a small fraction of serious damage to coral reefs worldwide, according to the website of marine insurer Gard.
But the displacement of sand and rubble from such incidents can smother live corals and the wildlife dependent on them, it added.
According to the website of shipping company Maersk, Marco Polo 802 is an Indonesia-flagged vessel that was scheduled to reach a terminal in Singapore at 10am.
MPA said there was no impact to navigational safety and the beach remained open to the public.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
When ST arrived at the scene at about 10.30am, three vessels and a tugboat were seen pulling the barge away from the coast.
As at 11.30am, the barge was about 500m from the coastline but a tugboat appeared to be entangled with the floating security barriers.
At about 2pm, the tugboat, which was about 100m from shore, was still stationary.
Divers were seen collecting buoys which were a part of the barriers, and moving them onto vessels.
The tugboat (centre), which had earlier appeared to be entangled with the floating security barriers, being pulled away by another tugboat at about 3.45pm on June 6.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
MPA said the Police Coast Guard has stepped up patrols in the area, and will assess the damage and carry out repairs.
It is investigating the incident.
This is the latest maritime incident around Sentosa in recent months, following multiple oil spills.
On Feb 5, members of the public said they saw patches of oil in the waters off Sentosa after a diesel oil leak from the Police Coast Guard Brani Regional Base
The Sentosa Development Corporation had said there were no oil sightings at the beaches, and deployed oil-absorbent and deflective booms around Tanjong, Palawan and Siloso beaches to safeguard the shores and marine environment.
In June 2024, three beaches – Palawan, Tanjong and Siloso – were closed for about three months after a boat hit a vessel at Pasir Panjang Terminal,
