No other oil sightings following recent Bukom and Changi incidents, say agencies

SINGAPORE – There have been no additional oil sightings at sea and ashore following two oil spill incidents over the past week, agencies said on Oct 30.

In a joint statement, nine agencies said the clean-up from the

Oct 20 Shell incident, which took place in the channel between Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kechil,

has been completed. Efforts included the cleaning of oil-stained rock bunds and infrastructure.

The statement added that there have been no oil sightings from a separate

oil overflow bunkering incident on Oct 28 off Changi.

The agencies involved are the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Building and Construction Authority, JTC Corporation, National Environment Agency (NEA), National Parks Board, national water agency PUB, Sentosa Development Corporation, Singapore Food Agency and the Singapore Land Authority.

As there have been no sightings, “all seaward oil response assets that were deployed by the MPA for both incidents will stand down” on Oct 30, the statement said.

In response to queries, MPA said these assets include an “MPA craft that was previously deployed, current busters, drones, satellite capabilities”, among other resources.

The containment and absorbent booms installed as a precaution by agencies at various locations since Oct 20 will be removed progressively.

The agencies said investigations by NEA and MPA into the leaked “slop” – a mixture of oil and water – from Shell’s facility at Pulau Bukom are ongoing. MPA is also looking at the bunkering incident in Changi.

The Oct 28 oil spill occurred during a bunkering operation between a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier and a licensed bunker tanker off Changi.

The spill happened when “oil overflowed during a bunkering operation from the receiving Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier, Ines Corrado”. This resulted in the operation ending immediately.

An estimated five tonnes of oil reportedly overflowed during the incident, MPA said.

On Oct 20, an oil leak emerged from a land-based pipeline belonging to British petrochemical company Shell between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil. Shell said in a statement the following day that approximately 30 to 40 tonnes of slop had leaked into the sea.

As a precaution, NEA told the public on Oct 21

to avoid swimming and other primary contact water activities

near the beaches of East Coast Park, Kusu Island, St John’s Island and Lazarus Island.

The advisory was

lifted on Oct 25

.