SINGAPORE : Parts of Singapore's East Coast beach have been closed to the public after traces of oil from Tuesday's oil spill were found near the shore.
According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), the affected portion stretches 500 metres near the National Sailing Centre.
The first traces of oil in the area were detected at 3.45pm on Wednesday.
Traces of oil were also found at the SAF Yacht Club, near Changi Naval base in the morning - at around 9am.
NEA has since deployed officers to clean up both sites and is advising the public to stay away from East Coast beach for the time being.
- CNA/al
Parts of East Coast beach closed due to oil spill
Hetty Musfirah, Jessica Yeo Channel NewsAsia 26 May 10;
SINGAPORE : Parts of Singapore's East Coast beach have been closed to the public after traces of oil slick from Tuesday's ship collision were found near the shore.
According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), the affected area stretched some five kilometres - from the National Sailing Centre to waters near Gold Kist Beach Resort.
The first traces of oil in the area were detected at 3.45pm on Wednesday.
Patches of oil were also found at the coastline between Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and Changi Naval Base.
NEA has deployed officers to clean up both sites and is advising the public to stay away from East Coast beach for the time being.
Tai Ji Choong, head of Operations, Environmental Health Department, National Environment Agency, said: "We are monitoring the situation, but we will be engaged here as long as it takes.
"I think we would like to advise the public to avoid the stretch of the beach that has been affected by the oil spill - not to swim there or carry out water activities there.
"Our NEA officers are working now at the beach areas to clean up the contaminated sand. Those sand that have been contaminated by the oil sludge, we actually clear up the sand, then dispose of the sand. At the same time, our guys are also making sure that people don't swim at the beach."
The situation, however, has dampened the spirits of some beach-goers.
"We came for the enjoyment but because of this, we cannot stay here for long," one of them said.
"There (are) ... strong nauseous fumes coming from the water. It's kind of like black water. Doesn't look like you want to go and swim in it," another said.
Containment and clean-up efforts also took place at a rock bund near the SAF Yacht Club. The first traces of oil slick there were detected as early as 9am on Wednesday.
Non-toxic and bio-degradable agents were used to break up the oil. NEA said the area is not accessible to the public, and the clean-up efforts there are to ensure oil traces do not stain the rock bund.
Meanwhile, the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) is working to contain the oil spill at the site of the collision between the Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 and the St Vincent and The Grenadines-registered bulk carrier MV Waily.
About 15 vessels and over 120 people were deployed to clean up the spill.
MPA said the weather, tide and wind conditions play an important role in the containment of the oil slick. Traffic in the Singapore Strait remains unaffected.
Members of the public can contact MPA's 24-hour Marine Safety Control Centre at 6325-2489 to report any sighting of oil slick in the waters or coastlines.
Meanwhile, restaurants in the East Coast area said the stench caused by the oil spill is affecting their business.
They said people are avoiding the area after the oil slick moved to parts of the East Coast shore.
Fish farms in the area are using plastic sheets given by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority as barricades to prevent any contamination from the oil slick.
Fish farmers MediaCorp spoke to said they fear the tide may shift the sheets, and thereby affect the fishes.
- CNA/al
Oil slick hits Changi coast
Amresh Gunasingham Straits Times 26 May 10;
Satellite image taken from above Changi Naval Base (rectangular shaped structure) by CRISP. The bright dots are ships and the oil slick is the patches of black around the coast. -- PHOTO: NUSEFFORTS to clean up the oil spill resulting from Tuesday morning's collision between two large vessels continued onWedneday, as patches of slick reached parts of the Changi coastline early in the morning.
Through the day the coastline between the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and Changi Naval Base, between National Sailing Centre and NSRCC-SAFRA Resort, were greeted with patches of oil slick.
Out at sea, efforts were ramped up to clean up the initial 4 sq km area of oil slick dumped 6km off the Changi coastline from spreading inland.
But this did not prevent the slick from reaching the eastern coastline.
As part of the containment efforts, some 19 craft and 120 personnel used bio-degradable dispersents to break up the oil slick into smaller globules and some 3,300 metres of containment booms used to contain the spill, said the Maritime Port Authority.
Oil slick hits shore
Straits Times 27 May 10;
Parts of East Coast beach closed due to oil spill-- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN A National Environment Agency worker spraying a non-toxic, biodegradable chemical dispersant into the water at the East Coast Park yesterday to break up an oil slick which has hit Singapore?s eastern shores. The oil had spilled out after a collision between two large vessels off the coast on Tuesday.
Slick stains 7.2km of beach
Unpredictable wind and tide conditions make containment difficult
Amresh Gunasingham & Liew Hanqing Straits Times 27 May 10;
EASTERN parts of Singapore's shoreline were polluted yesterday after efforts to contain the oil spill from Tuesday morning's collision between two large vessels off the Changi coast proved futile.
Yesterday morning, the slick had spread westwards to the coastline between Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and Changi Naval Base. The oil patches extended 20m out to sea.
By evening, it had spread to a 7.2 km stretch of the East Coast beach, sending beachgoers scurrying from the National Sailing Centre at the far eastern end to the Goldkist Beach Resort chalets near Marine Vista.
Unpredictable wind and tide conditions had made containment difficult, even though the weather was fine, said Mr Lam Wee Shann, deputy director of planning and communications at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
Following the dawn collision on Tuesday, which spilled 2,500 tonnes of crude oil into the sea, rescue personnel raced to clean up an area initially four sq km in area and 6km from the Changi coast.
Some 19 craft and 120 personnel used biodegradable dispersants to break up the oil slick into smaller globules and used some 3.3km of booms to hold in the spill.
But this could not prevent the oil from reaching the eastern shore. Further assessment will be carried out today to determine what more needs to be done to clear up the spill.
Mr Lam was addressing questions at a late press conference yesterday held jointly with the National Environment Agency (NEA), National Parks Board (NParks) and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.
Some 80 cleaners, armed with spades to scoop up contaminated sand, and 36 officers from NEA were involved in a massive clean-up effort along the affected beaches. Efforts will resume this morning.
NEA has closed the affected beaches and put up signs advising the public not to swim, although Mr Tan Quee Hong, director of NEA's pollution control department, said no traces of toxic substances were found in air samples taken yesterday.
He added that the foul odour smelled in some places on Tuesday might have been from the volatile parts of the oil sludge evaporating more quickly than the heavier parts.
Fish farmers and environmentalists are worried about the impact of the pollution on fish stocks and other marine flora and fauna.
However, Mr Wong Tuan Wah, director of the conservation division at NParks, said there has been no dead animal found so far, on either the mainland or Pulau Ubin. But as a precautionary measure, a 1km-long boom has been placed in the sea off Pulau Ubin to prevent damage to nature reserve Chek Jawa's rich biodiversity.
Fish farmers are bracing themselves for the slick to reach their nets, which could deprive their fish stocks of oxygen and kill them. There are 51 fish farms in Singapore, split between the eastern shoreline and Lim Chu Kang in the west. Mr Chow Chan Yuen, 66, who breeds red snapper and lobster, has lowered his nets further from the surface and is pumping oxygen into the cages. 'We are still worried,' he said.
Professor Pavel Tkalich, an oceanographer at the Tropical Marine Science Institute, said if the slick continues spreading, it could eventually reach the Southern Islands and even Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong over the next few days.
'The slick will move back and forth and can gradually spread beyond to the southern islands in the next four days.'
He added that environmental damage to corals and mangroves in these parts would be unavoidable, but unlikely to be significant.
The public has also raised concerns about the smell of kerosene coming from the affected areas, but Mr S. Satish Appoo, NEA's director of environmental health, assuaged the concerns, adding that those affected were probably more sensitive to strong smells.
'Durian could have the same effect on some people,' he quipped.
Additional reporting by Jessica Lim
Beaches closed, boats stained, stranded
Slick from oil spill hits East Coast Park
Grace Chua Straits Times 27 May 10;
AS A slick from Tuesday's oil spill hit the East Coast Park yesterday, beach-goers were told to stay out of the water and boats were stained or stranded on dry land.
By late afternoon, the oil from the collision between Malaysian-registered oil tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 and St Vincents and The Grenadines-registered bulk carrier MV Waily had spread from the SAF Yacht Club next to the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal all the way to the chalets in East Coast Park.
The hulls of boats moored at the yacht club were smeared with the dark, viscous oil, some of which had become trapped within the walls of the square marina.
The club's marketing manager Terence Tan noted that no oil had been seen on Tuesday morning, when the spill occurred; at lunch time that day, some six hours after the spill, only a thin layer of oil was in the water at the club.
But yesterday, receptionists at the club took to wearing face masks to ward off fumes given off by the evaporating oil.
Workers from salvage company Singapore Salvage Engineers were spraying chemical de-greasers in the club's boat launch area to disperse the oil, but Mr Tan said of their efforts: 'It's like bringing a penknife to a gunfight. The big guns are all out at sea, working on the oil spill there.'
The club has told its members that dry-berthed boats cannot be launched. The wet-berthed powercraft cannot go out to sea, for fear their engines will be clogged.
Mr Jonathan Yang, the general manager of yacht charter firm Pure Lust, said he expects to have to cancel this weekend's charter trips on his company's two boats. Each charter brings in about $1,000.
'I never expected this to happen in Singapore,' Mr Yang said.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said the first reports of oil slicks at East Coast Park came in by 3.45pm.
By sundown, the pollution had reached the Big Splash water park near Tanjong Katong Road South.
Beach-goers who had hoped for a day by the beach were dismayed.
Miss Agnes Nuubelle, 31, was there with three relatives for an afternoon of fishing, as they do several times a week.
'All the fish will die,' she lamented.
But the slick and strong smell of oil did not stop lorry driver Mohd Nasir Amin, 53, who was there to relax and fly kites with his wife, nine-year-old youngest daughter and five-year-old grandson.
He said he would return to the beach this weekend, though because of the NEA's advisories to stay out of the water, the children would not be able to swim.
'We are here every weekend. It's like our second home,' he said.
His wife, housewife Sufijah Sukaimi, 51, seated on a beach chair and referring to the odour in the air, said: 'Usually, I face out to see and count boats. Today, I'm facing inland.'
For the joggers, cyclists and those on in-line skates, it seemed to be business as usual.
And as of yesterday afternoon, Singapore's north-east coast had not yet been hit. Changi Beach was also clear of debris and oil.
A crude encounter at East Coast
Hetty Musfirah Andul Khamid Today Online 27 May 10;
SINGAPORE - Despite swift action on Tuesday to contain an oil spill out at sea after two vessels collided 13 kilometres off the coast of Singapore, it wasn't enough to prevent the oil slick from hitting the shoreline early yesterday, resulting in parts of East Coast Park (picture) being closed to the public. The first patches of oil were sighted in the waters off Changi Naval Base at 2am yesterday.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said six response craft equipped with dispersants were on site to manage the spill.
Still, oil patches were later spotted at the coastline between Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and Changi Naval Base; and by 6pm, they had spread to East Coast Park.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said the affected areas include parts of the beach fronting the SAF Yacht Club, National Sailing Club, East Coast Lagoon Food Village, Goldkist Beach Resort and Playground@Big Splash.
Mr Tai Ji Choong, NEA's head of operations for environmental health, said: "We would like to advise the public to avoid the stretch of the beach that has been affected by the oil spill, not to swim there or carry out water activities there."
NEA officers were at the beaches to clean up the contaminated sand. "Sand contaminated by the oil sludge was disposed of. At the same time, our guys are also making sure that people don't swim at the beach," said Mr Tai.
Signs have been put up to advise members of the public to stay away from the affected beaches until the cleaning is complete.
The oil spill has been a dampener for visitors to the East Coast Park.
Several complained of the smell, one visitor describing it as "strong nauseous fumes coming from the 'black' water".
A jogger said the smell made it very difficult for runners to breathe.
NEA said more than 50 workers have been deployed for the cleansing operations which will resume this morning.
Meanwhile, the MPA is working at the accident site to contain the oil spill.
The collision with the St Vincent and The Grenadines-registered bulk carrier, MV Waily, damaged the Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3. It was estimated that some 2,500 tonnes of crude oil from the damaged ship could have spilled into the sea.
There is no indication how long the slick will last. The MPA said the weather, tide and wind conditions will play an important role in the containment of the oil slick.
Members of the public can contact MPA's 24-hours Marine Safety Control Centre at 6325 2489 to report any sighting of the oil slick in the waters or coastlines.
Situational Update On Shoreline Oil Spill Clean-Up
NEA media release 26 May 10;
Singapore, 26 May 2010 - The National Environment Agency (NEA) has been closely monitoring the oill spill which took place yesterday morning. Despite the on-going efforts to contain the oil spill, some of the spill has reached our coastline. The extent of the impact is currently minimal, but will require some clean up over the next few days.
As of 6 pm today, the affected areas include the beaches and rock bunds between East Coast Park Carparks B1 to G, i.e., parts of the beaches fronting the SAF Yacht Club, National Sailing Club, East Coast Lagoon Food Village, Goldkist Beach Resort and Playground@Big Splash.
NEA commenced its cleansing operations at 9 am this morning. More than 50 cleansing workers have been deployed for the cleansing operations and they carried out the cleansing works until sunset. The cleansing operations will resume tomorrow at 7 am. Thirty NEA officers have also been deployed at site to monitor the situation and advise members of the public against using the affected beaches.
Signages have also been put up to advise members of the public to stay away from the affected beaches until the cleaning is complete. Members of the public are also advised not to swim at the affected beaches. We will continue to update the public on the situation via advisories through the media.
As part of the inter-agency effort involving NEA, MPA, NParks and AVA, the agencies will continue to ensure that the situation is closely monitored and managed to minimise the impact on the environment and any inconveniences to the public.
During this period, members of the public may come across traces of oil spill that has been treated with the dispersants near our coastline. There is no cause for alarm and they can contact our 24-hour call centre at 1800-CALL NEA (2255632) if they have any queries.