Singapore Races to Clean Up Oil Spill

Collision Between Oil Tanker and Cargo Ship Spilled Estimated 4,500 Tons of Oil Into Sea
ERIC YEP Asian Wall Street Journal 6 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE—Singapore is scrambling to clean up one of Asia’s largest oil spills in years after two ships collided late last week, amid worries the slick could spread to the nearby Indonesian tourist island of Bintan.

A Libyan-registered oil tanker, the Alyarmouk, and a Singaporean cargo ship, the Sinar Kapuas, collided on Jan. 2 in the busy shipping lanes northeast of Singapore, spilling an estimated 4,500 tons of crude oil into the ocean. While there are no reports of further oil leakage, four vessels with equipment such as dispersants and skimmers have been deployed to the site to contain the oil spill, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said.

On Tuesday, the maritime authority said that satellite images taken and aerial surveillance didn’t show any oil headed toward Bintan, but the agency also said it had reported a possible sighting of an oil patch northeast of the island to Indonesian authorities, without providing further details.

Over the weekend the maritime authority said patches of oil may affect the northern parts of Bintan. Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment didn’t respond to queries seeking information about the impact of the oil spill on Bintan island.

“By today’s standards 4,500 tons is a significant spill and the largest in this region for some time,” said Euan Graham, Senior Fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

He said Singapore’s shipping lanes are well-regulated and have a good safety record, though this isn't the first collision involving a large oil tanker in area.

“Rough seas in the area may have been a contributing factor to the collision, but may also assist in breaking up the spill,” Mr. Graham said.

The Alyarmouk was traveling from the port of Tanjung Pelapas in Malaysia to China, and the Sinar Kapuas was heading from Hong Kong to Singapore. The Alyarmouk is owned by a shipping group called V. Ships. The company didn’t respond to queries seeking comment. Samudera Shipping Line Ltd. , which owns the Sinar Kapuas, said it is currently investigating the cause of the collision and assessing the damage and impact on the group’s financial performance if any.

Oil spills in excess of 700 tons of oil are classified as large spills, according to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd., a nonprofit organization that tackles such disasters. The spill off Singapore is more than 10 times larger an oil leak off Bangladesh last month that endangered the world’s largest mangrove forest, and dwarfs the 50 tons spilled in the middle of last year near the popular tourist island of Koh Samet in Thailand.

Since the 1990s, the International Maritime Organization has mandated that oil tankers be built with double hulls, which Mr. Graham says has led to a significant drop in the number of oil spills at sea since. A double-hull oil tanker has an extra layer in its outer structure that reinforces the body of the ship. The Alyarmouk, built in 2008, is a double-hulled vessel.

No further oil leakage from collision near Pedra Branca: MPA
MATTHIAS TAY Today Online 7 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE — The oil leak caused by the collision of two vessels near Pedra Branca island last Friday has been brought under control, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a press release yesterday. The MPA said no further oil spills had been reported around the area.

Last Friday, Libyan-registered oil tank Alyarmouk and Singapore-registered bulk carrier Sinar Kapuas collided near Pedra Branca at around 6am.

The oil spill from Alyarmouk was estimated at around 4,500 tonnes. Both vessels are now anchored north-east of Pedra Branca and in a stable condition.

The MPA said a total of four vessels were deployed with bio-degradable dispersants to deal with the spill.

Aerial surveillance carried out on Monday by International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, which the MPA had enlisted to provide technical assistance, did not reveal any spread of the oil. The finding was confirmed by satellite images obtained by the MPA.

This quelled fears that the spillage might have spread to the coast of the Indonesian island of Bintan.

The MPA said it would conduct daily aerial surveillance when possible and keep a look out for oil leaks. It will also poll vessels operating in the region on whether any oil patches have been seen.

The MPA added that it would continue to offer its assistance and share available information with the Indonesian authorities.

Collision between Oil Tanker Alyarmouk and Bulk Carrier Sinar Kapuas north-east of Pedra Branca - Update 2
MPA News Release 6 Jan 15;

Following the collision between Libyan-registered oil tanker "Alyarmouk" and Singapore-registered bulk carrier "Sinar Kapuas" reported at about 0600hrs (Singapore Time) on 2 January 2015, there have been no further reports of oil leakage from "Alyarmouk". Both vessels are in stable condition and anchored safely, north-east of Pedra Branca.

Four vessels equipped with dispersants, oil booms and skimmers were deployed to the site to contain the oil spill. Non-toxic and bio-degradable dispersants were used to break up the oil into smaller globules.

MPA has also linked up with International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) for its technical expertise to assess the nature of the spill. Satellite imagery obtained on 4 January did not show any of the spilled oil headed towards Bintan. Aerial surveillance by ITOPF on the same day also did not show any spilled oil in the vicinity of Bintan.

MPA has been monitoring for sightings of the movement of the oil patches, including conducting daily aerial surveillance when possible. MPA will also continue to poll vessels operating in the region on whether they have spotted any oil patches. One report of a possible sighting of an oil patch off the coast of Tanjong Berakit, north-east of Bintan, was reported to the Indonesian authorities for their investigation.