Only one is being dismantled after safety checks; floating storage containers are gone
Jose Hong Straits Times 2 May 12;
THE owners of the illegal jetties off the eastern corner of the Lower Seletar Reservoir Dam are making their structures safe - and legal.
One month after the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) held a meeting with the owners, the area where the jetties are situated has changed significantly.
Gone are the floating storage containers in the sea, and one of the jetties is being dismantled. The remainder are in the process of being certified safe by professional engineers.
Before the authorities stepped in, there were at least four illegal jetties in the area.
A hundred metres out into the sea were several floating storage platforms which fishermen used to keep their equipment.
Both the MPA and the SLA declared these structures illegal, saying that although three temporary occupation licences had been issued to jetty owners for the use of state land since 1993, no approval was granted for the construction of the jetties and structures outside the licence boundary.
They also noted that the structures lacked professional certification and therefore posed safety hazards. However, if engineers could certify that the jetties were safe, they would not need to be removed.
A statement issued by the MPA said that now, the jetty owners have engaged their own professional engineers to ensure that the floating platforms within the licence boundary are certified safe.
They are in the process of rectifying the floating platforms according to the experts' recommendations, the statement added.
Mr Kelanasari Eeban, 42, whose family has operated Jenal Jetty for 15 years, said he had engaged a professional engineer about two weeks ago and was now working to make his jetty safe.
According to its statement, the MPA 'is working closely with the craft owners to complete the necessary removal and upgrading by May'.
Unlike the jetties, the floating storage platforms in the sea had to be removed. The SLA has already stated that it is prepared to provide more space on the shore to store equipment if the jetty owners apply for it.
According to an SLA spokesman, 'two licensees have been granted additional storage space in response to their request'. In the light of this, the temporary occupation licence fees 'have been increased accordingly'.
Farthest from the entrance to the area stands a jetty that is now being dismantled. It was built a year ago after some fishermen had a serious disagreement with the operator of another jetty.
In a previous interview with The Straits Times, their appointed spokesman, Mr Aron Christopher, 52, admitted that they were taking a 'gamble' with the authorities.
The gamble seems to have failed. However, the MPA said Mr Christopher will be able to continue with his activities by using one of the approved floating platforms that is within the licence boundary.
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