Riau wants Malaysia, Singapore to face up to oil spills

Fadli, The Jakarta Post 2 Feb 10;

The Riau Islands administration has called on neighbors Singapore and Malaysia to share responsibilities in safeguarding the sea traffic from the disposal of sludge oil by tankers, which has polluted the island’s territory.

Trudge the sludge: A man walks along the polluted beach of Tanjung Bemban in Riau Islands, on Monday. The pollution has been blamed on the disposal of the sludge oil by tankers in the Singapore and Malacca Straits. JP/Fadli

Kaharuddin Djaffar, the head of the Environmental Impact Management Agency of Riau Islands, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend that the cost of tackling the sludge oil pollution caused was expected to increase to 250 million this year from last year’s Rp 100 million.

He said the amount would be allocated to restore the polluted Tanjung Bemban.

“We want Singapore and Malaysia to share the responsibility for the incident because the busy traffic at the Malacca and Singapore straits have so far benefited the two countries more than it has us, while our territory suffers the brunt of pollution,” Kaharuddin said.

He said they were preparing a draft to demand that the two countries become more involved in the matter.

He added the move was necessary because Singapore and Malaysia had not been cooperative nor responsive over the issue.

“Malaysia and Singapore seem disinclined to discuss how to tackle the effects of the sludge oil disposal,” he said.

“They are nearer to most of the countries making those vessels [behind the spillages].”

Other parts of Riau Islands affected by the pollution included Batam, Bintan and Karimun.

On monitoring, the Post found the sludge oil to have a strong odor and a viscosity similar to hot asphalt.

Since contaminating the Tanjung Bemban two weeks ago, the dark liquid waste has swamped the mangrove forest, making the trees roots dark and oily.

Tanjung Bemban is home to 20 hectares of mangrove forest.

The agency disclosed that the northern part of Riau Islands territory had been hit by the junkyard of sludge oil between four and five times a year from September to January.

The office has turned to Navy patrol to help control polluting acts.

Indonesian Navy Chief Vice Admiral Agus Suhartono said his fleet would intensify their monitoring of the Singapore and Malacca straits.

He added four were on duty at the territory bordering the Singapore strait and seven were on duty at the other.

“Based on our monitoring, the vessels disposed the sludge oil on international waters,” he said on the sidelines of the Regatta Singapore Strait in Batam on Saturday.

“Because the wind from the north, the current drag the sludge to our coast.”

Agus said to enhance the monitoring of sea traffic, the Indonesian Navy was developing a satellite monitoring system.

“The number of fleet at the border has sufficed,” he said.

“We need to upgrade the monitoring system in order to detect what vessels are there.”