Zakaria Abdul Wahab, Bernama 27 May 10;
SINGAPORE, May 27 (Bernama) -- Top officials from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia met here today to assess the extent of oil pollution caused by the collision between an oil tanker and a bulk carrier in the Singapore Strait about 13km southeast of Changi East on Tuesday.
The officials who are members of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore Revolving Fund Committee (RFC) were briefed on the measures and efforts taken by the littoral states, their respective agencies and oil spill response companies from the private sector to contain and clean up the spill in Singapore waters.
About 2,500 metric tonnes of crude oil leaked out from the ruptured hull of the Malaysian-registered oil tanker, MT Bunga Kelana 3, after it was hit by St Vincent and Grenadines-registered bulk carrier, MV Waily.
Although the main oil slick has largely been contained out at sea, the city-state's environment authority estimated that some 7.2km of beaches and rock bunds along Singapore's east coast as well as a canal, have been affected by the slick.
Public beaches affected by the oil slick have been closed to the public for cleaning up by local authorities.
The members of the RFC are the Assistant Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Capt Khong Shen Ping, who is also the current committee chairman, Indonesia's Director-General for Sea Transportation Sunaryo, and Malaysia's Environment Department Director, Datuk Rosnani Ibarahim.
The RFC agreed to continue to co-operate closely to clean up the oil spill, and noted that the incident underscored the importance of having a standard operating procedure in place for dealing with such incidents in order to prevent environmental damage and disruption to shipping traffic in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
The RFC also acknowledged that quick action and co-operation had helped to mitigate the impact of this incident.
The RFC re-affirmed the continued close co-operation among the three littoral states in combating oil pollution in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore and pledged to work together to further enhance joint responses in the future.
-- BERNAMA
MPA won't use special fund for clean-up
Amresh Gunasingham Straits Times 28 May 10;
THE Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said yesterday it will not tap into pooled fund resources - such as the Revolving Fund - to offset the cost of the final clean-up bill for Tuesday's oil spill off the Changi coast.
The fund, set up in 1981 with an initial 400 million yen deposit from the Japanese government, can be used by Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia to draw a cash advance for use in combating oil pollution caused by ships. The amount drawn must be repaid to the fund when the state recovers the cleanup costs from the parties responsible.
But an MPA spokesman said there is no intention to tap on the Revolving Fund.
Leading maritime officials from the Strait of Malacca and Singapore Revolving Fund Committee (RFC) also met yesterday to discuss the extent of the pollution from Tuesday's vessel accident and agreed to work closely to combat it.
The 31st meeting of the RFC, a working group that brings together Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to discuss oil spill incidents, meets annually.
Singapore has an agreement with its neighbours to work together to clean up pollution along the busy strait, a key channel for international shipping with some 900 ships passing through each day.
On Tuesday, when the incident occurred, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the MPA offered assistance to Malaysia and Indonesia to contain and clean up the oil spill, in line with the Standard Operating Procedure for Joint Oil Spill Combat in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
It is not known at this stage what the final cleanup bill from Tuesday's oil spill will amount to.
But the MPA spokesman said the owners of both vessels involved in the spill - Malaysian owned AET and Hong Kong-based Treasure Maritime - 'are jointly and severally liable for the cost of the clean-up efforts'.
Experts say that the clean-up costs alone will run into several hundred thousand dollars given the scale of the operation so far.
Any potential compensation that may have to be paid to those impacted by the slick could increase this further.The cost of the cleaning up here is a far cry from that in the Gulf of Mexico, where petroleum giant BP estimates that a leaking well there will cost an estimated US$6 million (S$8.4 million) a day to clean up.
Straits of Malacca & RFC to cooperate to clean up S'pore oil spill
Lin Jiamei Channel NewsAsia 27 May 10;
SINGAPORE : Members of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore Revolving Fund Committee (RFC) have agreed to cooperate to clean up the oil spill resulting from Tuesday's collision of two vessels at sea.
The RFC consists of members from the littoral states of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
The committee holds annual meetings to discuss issues relating to oil spills and also hold regular joint exercises.
It held its 31st meeting in Singapore Thursday and was briefed on the extent of the oil pollution from the collision.
During the meeting, the committee noted that the incident underscored the importance of having the Standard Operating Procedures for Joint Oil Spill Combat in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
The SOP will help prevent environmental damage and disruption to shipping traffic in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore when such accidents occur.
The RFC also acknowledged that quick action and co-operation have helped to mitigate the impact of this incident.
They also re-affirmed the continued close co-operation among the three littoral states in combating oil pollution in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
They also pledged to work together to further enhance joint responses in the future. - CNA/jy
