Oil spill off Changi East: other reports

Singapore Battles Oil Spill; MISC Shares Decline (Update3)
Yee Kai Pin Bloomberg Businessweek 26 May 10;

May 26 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore is stepping up efforts to contain an oil slick that reached its shores a day after a tanker, owned by a unit of MISC Bhd., collided with a bulk carrier near the world’s busiest container port.

“Patches” of oil have affected part of the coastline between Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and Changi Naval Base and between a sailing club and a golf resort, the Maritime and Port Authority said today. The MT Bunga Kelana 3, owned by AET Tanker Holdings Sdn., collided with the bulk carrier MV Waily 13 kilometers (8 miles) southeast of Changi East yesterday.

The spill, equivalent to 18,325 barrels or enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool, amounts to three days of leakage from BP Plc’s damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico. AET is a unit of MISC, the world’s biggest operator of liquefied natural gas carriers. MISC shares fell the most in three months.

“The incident may have marginal financial impact on the group as it is obviously fully covered by insurance,” Ng Sem Guan, a stock analyst at broker OSK Securities Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur, said in a note.

MISC dropped 3.4 percent to 8.13 ringgit in Kuala Lumpur, more than the 0.1 percent decline in the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index. The stock fell for a sixth day, the longest losing streak in five years.

“The incident caused significant damage to the vessel’s hull,” according to AET.

As of 11:30 a.m. Singapore time today, 15 vessels and more than 120 personnel have been deployed and 3.3 kilometers of containment booms used, the Maritime and Port Authority said.

Indonesia, Malaysia

“Joint clean-up efforts by the National Environment Agency and contractors engaged by AET are ongoing,” the authority said on its website. “MPA continues to work with the Indonesian and Malaysian authorities.”

Treasure Marine Ltd. is the beneficial owner of the Waily, Bloomberg data showed. The 25,449-deadweight-ton vessel, flying a St. Vincent & The Grenadines flag, was built in 1983. It sailed from the east Indian port of Paradip about two weeks ago.

“I should think that they would know very well whether more oil is going to leak or not,” said John Vautrain, senior vice-president at U.S. energy consultants Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore. “This is not like BP’s problem in the Gulf of Mexico. This is not a difficult spill situation.”

BP estimated its Gulf of Mexico oil well has been leaking 5,000 barrels a day since an April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11. Independent scientists have told the U.S. Congress crude was spewing at more than 10 times that rate.

Singapore’s Worst Spill

Singapore’s worst oil spill was in October 1997 when the Cyprus-flagged Evoikos collided with the Thai-registered Orapin Global, a Very Large Crude Carrier. More than 25,000 tons of oil were spilled.

AET is undertaking an “internal transfer” of Bintulu grade crude oil from the vessel, the company said today in an e- mailed statement. The tanker, struck on its port side as it sailed east to west, will be moved after the underwater damage is assessed.

The Malaysia-flagged Bunga Kelana 3, classed as an Aframax tanker, was built in 1998 with 12 cargo tanks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It has a double hull, a design meant to prevent oil leaks or flooding beyond the outer compartment.

“Double hull does not guarantee there will never be a spill,” said Vautrain at Purvin & Gertz. “Double hull means it takes a bigger collision to create a spill. I shouldn’t think it’ll take too long to clean this up.”

The vessel had a loaded draft of 11.4 meters (37.4 feet) yesterday, compared with its maximum of 14.9 meters, based on transmissions captured by AISLive on Bloomberg. This indicates it was almost fully laden when it departed Bintulu in Malaysia’s Sarawak state on May 23.

“AET is also cooperating fully with Malaysian authorities in readiness of possible clean-up operations along the southeastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia,” the company said.

--Editors: Ang Bee Lin, Jane Lee.

Oil spill reaches Singapore's east coast
Alex Kennedy Associated Press Bloomberg Businessweek 26 May 10;

SINGAPORE: Oil spilled from a tanker collision offshore Singapore fouled parts of a two-mile (3.2-kilometer) stretch of the city-state's coast, authorities said Wednesday.

Officials have deployed oil dispersants, 15 boats, 120 personnel and 3,300 meters (10,800 feet) of containment booms in a bid to keep the oil from Singapore's east coast, a popular beach and park area. The affected area is between a naval base and a sailing center, authorities said.

"Small patches of oil and sheen were sighted at Changi Naval Base," the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said. "Patches of oil slick have also affected part of the coastline."

About 18,000 barrels of light crude oil spilled from the Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 after it collided with the St. Vincent's and The Grenadines-registered bulk carrier MV Waily early Tuesday in the Singapore Strait about eight miles (13 kilometers) southeast of Singapore's east coast.

The port authority and the National Environment Agency confirmed local press reports that east coast residents complained of a foul oil smell Tuesday.

"Some of the lighter portions of the oil could have evaporated and caused a smell that was detected by some members of the public," the port authority and environment agency said in a joint statement. It wasn't toxic, they said.

Malaysian coast guard Commander Abdul Hadib Abdul Wahab said Tuesday that any environmental damage would be "very minimal."

The MT Bunga Kelana 3 was built in 1998 and is owned and operated by AET Tanker Holdings (AET), a subsidiary of MISC Bhd. Malaysia's state oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd. is MISC's biggest shareholder. MISC owns a fleet of 44 petroleum tankers.

Singapore closes beaches as oil spill spreads
Alex Kennedy Associated Press Google News 27 May 10;

SINGAPORE — Singapore closed beaches along 7.2 kilometers (4.5 miles) of its east coast as an oil spill from a damaged tanker continued to spread Thursday.

Blotches of rust-colored oil floated next to a breaker wall at a ferry terminal while the nearby National Sailing Center, which usually gives daily classes to hundreds of school students, shut its doors.

A pungent stench has now enveloped the eastern coastline — an area that is normally packed on weekends with families, roller-bladers and cyclists enjoying the sand, sea and some of the island's best seafood restaurants.

"The smell was so bad yesterday, it made me nauseous," said Ho Shufen, a manager at the sailing center. "I don't expect anyone would want to come here until the smell is gone."

About 18,000 barrels of light crude oil spilled from the Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 after it collided with the St. Vincent's and The Grenadines-registered bulk carrier MV Waily early Tuesday in the Singapore Strait about eight miles (13 kilometers) southeast of the city-state's east coast.

The National Environment Agency said it would take the "next few days" to clean up the coastline and advised the public to stay away from affected beaches.

Officials deployed oil dispersants and 3,300 meters (10,800 feet) of containment booms in an unsuccessful bid to keep the slick from fouling the coast.

Officials at the ferry terminal said the oil spill hasn't affected its services.

Singapore closes popular beaches after oil spill
Roberto Coloma Yahoo News 27 May 10;

SINGAPORE (AFP) – Emergency crews on Thursday rushed to clean up popular public beaches stained by an oil slick on the eve of Singapore's summer school holidays.

A pungent chocolate-coloured sludge marred the seawater and sand in parts of the East Coast Park after crude spilled from a tanker damaged in a collision on Tuesday in the Singapore Strait slipped out of a floating cordon.

Officials said that most of the spill was still far from the shores of the city-state, which has one of the world's busiest ports and expects 11.5 million to 12.5 million tourists this year, more than double its population.

"The main oil slick is largely contained out at sea," a spokeswoman for the Maritime and Port Authority told AFP.

A National Environment Agency advisory said: "The extent of the impact is currently minimal, but will require some clean-up over the next few days."

Signs advised the public to stay away from the affected beaches until the cleaning is complete and the powerful smell of oil served as another warning that the beach was unsafe.

The environment agency said it had not detected any toxic chemicals in the air and there was "no cause for alarm."

It estimated that some 7.2 kilometres (4.5 miles) of beach and rock bunds along the east coast, as well as a canal, had been affected by the slick after wind and tide conditions made containment at sea difficult.

The Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 was carrying nearly 62,000 tonnes of crude when it collided with the MV Waily, a bulk carrier registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

About 2,500 tonnes of crude leaked from a gash on the double-hulled tanker's port side, officials said. Such tankers are designed to limit spillage in case of a rupture.

Emergency crews are using biodegradable dispersants and absorbent material to soak up the oil, while 3.3 kilometres of booms circled the main oil slick in the busy shipping lane straddling Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

A committee that coordinates oil-spill operations among the three neighbours issued a statement Thursday saying quick action "helped to mitigate the impact of this incident" and vowed to "further enhance joint responses in the future."

At one of the most popular spots along the coastal park, two teams of mostly Bangladeshi workers were collecting sludge from the beach with shovels and storing the contaminants in black rubbish bags for disposal.

"The smell (of oil) is not that much today," said park visitor Jenny Goh, who took her son from their nearby condominium to take a look at the damaged beach. "The first day was bad."

The month-long school summer holiday starts on Friday, a public holiday.

On long weekends, Singaporeans, expatriates and tourists normally throng the park for swimming, camping, cycling and barbecues.

Singaporean environmentalists were closely monitoring the situation and preparing to take part in the clean-up if needed.

The government has loaned canvas skirting to offshore seafood farms near the spill site to cover their underwater nets and prevent oil from contaminating their fish stocks.

The collision took place in a busy maritime channel but ship traffic was not affected by the incident and clean-up, port officials said.

Singapore is one of the world's leading ports, with data from the port authority showing the island-nation handled 472 million tonnes of cargo last year, with bulk oil cargo constituting 37.5 percent of the total.

Singapore closes beaches due to oil spill
Reuters 27 May 10;

(Reuters) - Singapore closed most of its eastern beaches due to the oil spilt in nearby waters following a collision between a tanker and a bulk carrier earlier this week, the environmental agency said on Thursday.

The oil slick affected a stretch of more than 7 kilometres (4.4 miles) of eastern Singapore, which include beaches, rock bunds and popular recreational and sailing areas, the National Environmental Agency (NEA) said.

Patches of oil have also affected parts of the coastline in easternmost Singapore, the Maritime and Port of Authority of Singapore (MPA) said.

However, the spill has not spread further on Thursday, the MPA said, adding that shipping traffic via the Singapore Strait was unaffected.

The NEA could not say how long the beaches would be closed, but said cleanup operations were continuing.

The Malaysian flagged aframax MT Bunga Kelana 3 was carrying about 62,000 tonnes of light crude when it was involved in the collision with bulk carrier MV Waily in waters between Malaysia and Singapore on Tuesday, spilling 2,500 tonnes of oil.

But the spill, equivalent to about 18,000 barrels, is dwarfed by the 175,000 barrels of oil that has poured into the Gulf of Mexico since the offshore explosion that sank the Deepwater Horizon rig last month.

(Reporting by Harry Suhartono and the Singapore Energy Desk, Editing by Himani Sarkar)