No oil sightings following recent leak, bunkering incidents; seaward oil response assets to stand down: Authorities

SINGAPORE: No oil sightings have been detected at sea and ashore following clean-up and precautionary measures in response to two recent oil-related incidents, said the authorities in a joint statement on Wednesday (Oct 30).

All seaward oil response assets deployed by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) for both incidents will also stand down on Wednesday, while containment and absorbent booms installed at various locations as a precautionary measure since Oct 20 will be "removed progressively".

The first incident was the leak from a pipeline belonging to major energy company Shell between Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kecil on Oct 20. It involved 30 to 40 metric tonnes of “slop”, a mixture of oil and water, leaked into the sea. The authorities said there have been no other oil sightings at sea and ashore since that date, when Shell first reported the leak.

The authorities added that the clean-up in the channel between the two Bukom islands, including the cleaning of oil-stained rock bunds and infrastructure, has been completed.

The second and more recent incident was the oil spill off Changi during bunkering operations between a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier and a licensed bunker tanker on Oct 28. An estimated 5 tonnes of oil was reported to have overflowed. The authorities said there were no oil sightings arising from the incident.

Investigations by MPA and the National Environment Agency (NEA) into the Shell oil pipeline leak are ongoing. MPA will also be investigating the Changi oil overflow bunkering incident.

The joint media statement was issued by nine authorities - MPA, NEA, the Building and Construction Authority, JTC, National Parks Board, PUB, Sentosa Development Corporation, Singapore Food Agency and Singapore Land Authority.