Straits Times 7 Jul 11;
THE National Environment Agency (NEA) has started a two-year project to monitor Singapore's coastal waters for incidents like oil and chemical spills.
It is working with Dutch water institute Deltares to create a monitoring system that can keep tabs on changes in the water, and a computer system that can forecast the extent of marine disasters.
If successful, the system will, for example, be able to predict how far an oil spill will spread within six, 12 and 24 hours.
It will also monitor the waters continuously to look out for abnormal chemical changes.
Deltares managing director Harry Baayen said the project - nicknamed Project Neptune - will use eight large buoys equipped with sensors to collect data from coastal waters around Singapore.
The first sensor will be deployed by the year end.
Singapore straddles busy shipping routes and accidents have been known to happen.
About a third of the world's trade and half the world's oil trade pass through the Malacca Strait and the Singapore Strait.
In May last year, a collision between an oil tanker and a bulk carrier in the Singapore Strait spilled about 2,500 tonnes of crude oil into the sea.
When contacted, NEA confirmed that the project is ongoing but was unable to provide additional details.
FENG ZENGKUN
