New patches of oil in waters off Singapore

New patches of oil in waters off Singapore

SINGAPORE (AP): More floating oil was spotted in the waters off Singapore on Monday, six days after a tanker ran aground and spilled at least 7,000 metric tons (2 million gallons) of crude oil into the ocean.

"Small broken patches of treated oil with debris" were found in areas around Singapore, the Maritime and Port Authority said in a statement.

The tanker Natuna Sea ran aground Tuesday in Indonesian waters about eight kilometers (five miles) southeast of Singapore. None of the 32 people on board, who were from India, the Philippines and Europe, were injured. The ship was en route from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to China.

The vessel's agent, Singapore's Tanker Pacific Management, said it had mobilized an additional 110 persons, including local fishermen, who will begin work on Tuesday to help clean up the oil.

This will bring the number of people involved in cleaning up the oil spill to more than 200, the company said in a statement. They include 19 employees from Tanker Pacific.

The Port Authority said two new oil booms were set up Monday to keep oil from drifting toward Singapore's coastline, bringing the total number of oil booms deployed to eight.

Beach cleanup operations continued Monday on islands south of Singapore, including Sentosa, St. John's Island and Sisters' Island, the Maritime and Port Authority said.