Oil spill hits RI, Singapore

Oil spill hits RI, Singapore

SINGAPORE (AP): A Panama-registered tanker ran aground between Indonesia and Singapore at dawn Tuesday, spilling at least 7,000 metric tons (about 2 million gallons) of crude oil into the sea, officials said.

Oil was still leaking from the ship about six hours after it ran aground in Indonesian waters about eight kilometers southeast of Singapore, said Felicia Wu, a spokeswoman for the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority.

No injuries were reported among the 32 people aboard the vessel, the 51,095-gross ton Natuna Sea.

An oil patch about one mile long (1.6 km) and half a mile wide was drifting toward Indonesia's Riau islands, which lie 20 kilometers south of Singapore, Wu said.

The Natuna Sea left Jeddah, Saudi Arabia en route to China, and was supposed to stop in Singapore for refueling when it ran aground, Wu said.