Singapore acts to contain bulker oil spill during bunkering operation
About five tonnes of oil were estimated to have overflowed while bunkering a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier
No oil was sighted at sea by Tuesday morning after the MPA had sprayed dispersants
MARITIME and Port Authority of Singapore has confirmed that the Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier Ines Corrado (IMO: 9602772) had an oil overflow during bunkering on Monday afternoon, but it has been stopped, with precautionary measures in place.
The spill was reported to have occurred at around 1740 hrs on Monday, prompting an immediate halt to bunkering operations, MPA said in a statement on Tuesday.
There is no impact to navigational traffic, the statement added.
Later on the same day, in response to media inquires, MPA said an estimated five tonnes of oil was reported to have overflowed and its patrol craft had sprayed dispersants.
“As at 0800 hrs this morning, there is no oil sighted at sea in the vicinity of the incident and ashore,” it added.
As a precautionary step, a current buster — a device used to skim and collect oil from the water’s surface — has been deployed off Changi to retrieve any oil observed.
MPA has notified Malaysian authorities to remain vigilant for any oil sightings.
The authority also said it will launch an investigation into the incident.
Built in 2012, Ines Corrado is owned by Gestion Maritime Group and managed by Gestmar Tehnika, according to the Lloyd’s List Intelligence database.
This has been the third oil leak or spill accident in Singapore waters since June.
On October 20, an estimated 30 to 40 metric tonnes of slop, a mixture of oil and water, was leaked from Shell’s land-based pipeline between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil into the water.
As a precautionary measure, the National Environment Agency advised the public to refrain from swimming and conducting other primary contact water activities at the beaches at East Coast Park, Kusu, St John’s, and Lazarus Island. The advisory was lifted on October 25.
On June 14, the dredger Vox Maxima (IMO: 9454096) experienced a sudden loss of engine power and steering control before colliding with a stationary bunker vessel, resulting in an oil spill of approximately 400 tonnes of low-sulphur fuel oil into Singapore waters.
While the incident did not disrupt navigation traffic and port operations, some beaches in the affected areas were temporarily closed to facilitate clean-up operations.
