Farik Zolkepli The Star 28 May 10;
PENGERANG: Some of the 2,000 tonnes of crude oil which spilled into the Singapore Strait following the collision of two tankers on Monday has spread to Malaysian waters.
Efforts to contain the spill have failed. The oil slick reached Tanjung Ayam in Pengerang yesterday.
Johor Department of Environment (DOE) director Dr Zulkifli Abdul Rahman said about a 1.6km-wide oil slick was detected 1km off Tanjung Ayam yesterday.
“We are doing our best to prevent the slick from reaching the beach area with the cooperation of the Southern Region Marine Department. We are installing booms at the affected area,” he said.
He said officers were monitoring the situation closely and hoped to be able to clear the slick within a week.
The mt Bunga Kelana 3, a Malaysian-registered tanker, and bulk carrier MV Waily, which was registered in St Vincent and The Grenadines, collided in the strait, about 13km southeast of Changi East on Monday morning, causing the oil spill.
The Singapore Maritime and Port Authority is actively cleaning the slick by sucking the oil into the empty tanks of mt Bunga Kelana 3.
The Marine Police have also deployed three boats to Pengerang waters as a security measure.
They are expected to patrol the border between Singapore and Malaysian waters to prevent boats from going into the affected area.
The area affected by the slick is about four nautical miles off Tanjung Stapa in Pengerang and 3.7 nautical miles off Singapore waters.
Oil Spill Enters Malaysian Waters
Bernama 27 May 10;
JOHOR BAHARU, May 27 (Bernama) -- The oil spill caused by a collision involving the tanker, MT Bunga Kelana 3, and bulk carrier MV Waily in the Singapore Strait, about 13km southeast of Changi East last Tuesday, has spread into Malaysian waters.
Johor Department of Environment director Dr Zulkifli Abdul Rahman said the spill measuring 1,600-metre long and 960-metre wide, was now 960 metres from the Tanjung Ayam beach in Pengerang, Kota Tinggi.
"Currently, the Southern Region Marine Department is in the midst of preventing the spill from reaching the beach," he said in a statement here Thursday.
He said the 'boom' or equipment to prevent the spill from spreading had been installed.
-- BERNAMA
Oil spill spreads further
The Star 28 May 10;
PENGERANG: Some of the 2,000 tonnes of crude oil, which spilled into the Singapore Strait on Monday, has spread further to Teluk Ramunia.
Department of Environment director-general Datuk Rosnani Ibarahim said Friday that patches of oil had reached Teluk Ramunia after these were earlier spotted at Tanjung Ayam.
“However, it is not a major cause for concern as only a few patches were seen there as compared to in Tanjung Ayam.
“Some of the oil that had turned into tar balls has also reached the shores of Tanjung Ayam,” she said when contacted here Friday.
Rosnani said the department personnel were using the dispersant technique to clean up the oil patches at sea as well as manually collecting the tar balls washed ashore.
“We have also installed booms to prevent the oil from spreading elsewhere. The situation is under control as DOE personnel had anticipated that the oil would spread to Malaysian waters due to the changing sea current,” she said.
Rosnani, who was in Singapore on Thursday to meet its authorities, said the republic’s Maritime and Port Authority had already transferred the remaining oil from the damaged tanker into one of its functioning tanks.
“We are confident that the situation will not worsen. Our department is cooperating with the Southern Region Marine Department, the Marine police and the Maritime Enforcement Agency to contain and clean up the oil in our waters,” she said.
Rosnani said the oil reached Tanjung Ayam due to the current as well as it being the location nearest to the oil spill, which was about four nautical miles off Tanjung Stapa in Pengerang and 3.7 nautical miles off Singapore.
Malaysian registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 had collided with bulk carrier MV Waily in the strait, about 13km southeast of Changi East on Monday morning, causing the spill.
The Marine Police have deployed three boats to Pengerang waters to patrol the border between the Malaysian and Singaporean waters to prevent boats from going into the affected area.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said he was informed daily of the development in Pengerang and Singapore.
“We hope the situation will be solved soon to prevent further pollution to Malaysian waters,” he said.
