Oil spill exercise held to test response capabilities

Channel NewsAsia 17 Oct 14;

SINGAPORE: A multi-agency joint oil spill exercise to test Singapore's readiness to respond effectively to oil spills at sea was held on Friday (Oct 17) morning, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) announced in a media release. The exercise, code-named JOSE 2014, was held from 9am to 1.30pm.

The exercise involved a scenario where a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), named "Blue Moon", was discharging her oil at Shell Bukom Single-Buoy Mooring (SBM) when one of the sub-sea hoses located at the mooring ruptured. About 6,000 tonnes of light crude oil was spilled into the sea. The Master of the VLCC immediately reported the incident to MPA and requested for assistance, according to the release.

The spill response teams then deployed equipment such as oil containment booms around the VLCC and the SBM to prevent further escape of the oil, as well as the recovery of oil by specialised skimmers. MPA also deployed 16 anti-pollution craft and an aircraft fitted with an aerial dispersant spraying system to combat the spill, the release stated.

About 180 personnel from 19 agencies participated in the exercise. These include:

Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA)
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)
Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI)
National Environment Agency (NEA)
National Parks Board (NParks)
Police Coast Guard (PCG)
Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)
Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC)
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)
Singapore Police Force (SPF)
Ministry of Transport (MOT)
Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd. (SEPPL)
Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL)
Singapore Oil Spill Response Centre (SOSRC)
Singapore Petroleum Company Limited (Pulau Sebarok)
Singapore Salvage Engineers Pte Ltd (SSE)
Tankstore (Pulau Busing Terminal)
Vopak Terminals Singapore Pte Ltd (Pulau Sebarok)

Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive, MPA said, “As the world's top bunkering port and a major oil refining centre, it is important for Singapore to remain vigilant and prepared in the event of a marine pollution incident."

The exercise was held in conjunction with the 18th Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON) hosted by MPA, the release said.

- CNA/dl