Oil spill threatens Singapore marine life
Oil spill threatens Singapore marine life
SINGAPORE (AFP): Helicopters sprayed chemicals on oil-tainted seas yesterday and Japan sent experts to help clean up the mess as the worst oil spill in Singapore's history threatened marine life in the area.
"Twenty-five thousand tons of oil is substantial and will have a definite impact on the marine ecosystem," the environment ministry told AFP in response to queries about the effects of the oil spill.
"It can affect marine life around the area if the spill is large and not contained early," it said.
Some 25,000 tonnes of marine fuel oil spilled into the busy Singapore Strait after a night-time collision between the Thai- registered crude carrier Orapin Global and Cyprus-flagged oil tanker Evoikos last Wednesday.
The crash badly damaged the Evoikos, which was carrying 120,000 tonnes of marine fuel oil from the United Arab Emirates. The crude carrier was empty at the time of the collision.
There are fears that the oil spill could ruin some of the better coral reefs off heavily-developed Singapore. The environment ministry said it was monitoring the situation closely.
It said it did not expect the spill to hit beaches in mainland Singapore thanks to quick action by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) to contain the spread of the oil.
Among the areas being protected is the resort islet of Sentosa, a popular destination for foreign tourists.
An MPA spokeswoman said helicopters fitted to spray chemical dispersants on the water made their rounds yesterday, joining boats in the effort to break up oil slicks on the sea's surface. Chris Richards, an oil spills expert involved in the cleanup, told the Straits Times that the chemicals break down the oil into droplets that can be "eaten" by micro-organisms.
Some 300 people and 39 vessels have been mobilized for the cleanup, the newspaper said, noting that the spill was close in scale to the 1989 incident when the vessel Exxon Valdez dumped 35,000 tonnes of crude oil when it ran aground in Alaska.
But thanks to computer projections, booms were put in place on the water to contain the oil before it could drift to mainland Singapore, the report said.
In Tokyo, officials said a team of six Japanese oil disposal experts left for Singapore yesterday on a three-week mission to help clean up the spill.
The MPA said anti-pollution equipment provided by the Petroleum Association of Japan had arrived in Singapore. The assistance includes skimmers, devices used to extract oil from the water's surface into tanks.
Singapore has also sought help from Australia and the United States.
"The clean-up operation is expected to take several days," according to the MPA, which said some beaches in small islets used by the Singapore armed forces for live-firing exercises had been affected by the oil spill.
The ship collision was still under investigation.
MPA officials have said that the ships collided despite a radio warning from the MPA -- acknowledged by both vessels -- that radar showed they were on a collision course.
Press reports said one of the vessels may have been sailing in the wrong lane. Under a traffic separation scheme, vessels plying the strait are given specific lanes to sail along.
Singapore is one of the world's busiest ports, with over 10,000 vessels arriving each month. The accident happened in clear weather.