SINGAPORE: Booms have been deployed by Singapore authorities at areas such Marina Barrage, Sentosa, East Coast Park and West Coast Park in response to the oil leak from a Shell pipeline on Sunday (Oct 20).
The National Environment Agency (NEA) has also advised members of the public against swimming and other primary contact water activities at the beaches of East Coast Park, Kusu, St John’s and Lazarus islands as a “precautionary measure”.
“As of Oct 21 morning, no oil has been detected near the Marina East Desalination Plant and Jurong Island Desalination Plant, which are closest to the oil leak location,” national water agency PUB said in a Facebook post on Monday.
“As a precautionary measure, PUB has also deployed oil containment booms across the Marina Barrage, which separates the sea from Marina Reservoir.”
PUB added it is closely monitoring the seawater intakes at its desalination plants, noting that quality readings remain normal and operations are not affected.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Sunday it was alerted to oil leakage from a Shell land-based pipeline between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil at about 1pm.
The leak occurred at around 5.30am and “was reported to have stopped at source”, it added.
NEA also said in a Facebook post it has deployed absorbent booms at the canals, and key areas at East Coast Park and West Coast Park, and will continue to monitor the situation.
On the oil leak, the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said in a Facebook post it was aware of the incident, adding that “there are no signs of oil or smell at any of our beaches, and Tanjong, Palawan, and Siloso Beach remain open for all water activities”.
“As a precaution, we’ve deployed oil absorbent booms across key areas, including our beaches, Sentosa Golf Club, and Sentosa Cove.”
Likewise, oil absorbent booms have been “pre-emptively” deployed to protect the lagoons at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, Berlayer Creek, the Rocky Shore at Labrador Nature Reserve and the mangroves at the Marsh Garden at West Coast Park, said the National Parks Board (NParks).
It added it had not observed any oil at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, Labrador Nature Reserve and West Coast Park as of Monday morning.
The public areas at Labrador Nature Reserve and West Coast Park will remain open, NParks said.
SHELL ASSESSING VOLUME OF OIL SPILLED INTO SEA
Seven MPA craft equipped with dispersants together with craft from its contractor Singapore Salvage Engineers were deployed in response to the incident, while the authority also activated drones and satellite capabilities to assist with the sighting of the oil spill.
Shell told CNA on Sunday, that the oil leak at Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Singapore was stopped on Sunday at around 3pm.
In a statement on its website, the energy giant said that it is still assessing the volume of oil spilled into the sea and investigations to identify the cause of the incident are underway. No injuries or fatalities have been reported, it added.
Shell has placed containment booms off the site of the leak and has also deployed craft equipped with dispersants to clean up the oil sighted in the vicinity of the leak, said MPA.
An oil spill in June involving about 400 tonnes of fuel led to the closure of beaches around Singapore, with clean-up operations recently completed in early September.