 "Why Singapore has halted water activities at beaches of the popular Sentosa island")
Some beaches in Singapore have been shut after an oil spilled into the island nation’s waters last week. The effects of the leak have been seen at the luxury resort island of Sentosa and beyond, even threatening a marine reserve.
Authorities have jumped to action to prevent the spill from spreading further. The incident has also raised concerns about the impact on the environment and marine life.
What happened?
On Friday (14 June), a Netherlands-flagged dredger hit a stationary Singapore-flagged bunker vessel in the southern port of Pasir Panjang.
As per authorities, the dredger boat Vox Maxima experienced a sudden loss in engine and steering control, leading it to strike the Singaporean fuel supply ship Marine Honor, reported Associated Press (AP).
This resulted in one of the cargo tanks on the Marine Honor rupturing and leaking low-sulphur oil into the sea.
While the leak has been contained, “due to the tidal current, the treated oil has landed along shorelines including Sentosa, Labrador Nature Reserve, Southern Islands, Marina South Pier, and East Coast Park”, authorities said, as per Reuters.
Restriction on beaches on Santosa island
The beaches of the island resort of Sentosa have been affected due to the oil spill.
Sentosa, a popular resort island, is home to Singapore’s luxury hotels, golf courses and Universal Studios Singapore.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhile the beaches are open to the public, swimming and sea activities are not allowed at Tanjong, Palawan and Siloso beaches on the west coast of the island, reported CNN.
Tourists were left disappointed due to the pungent smell of oil at the beaches.
“Tanjong Beach is a popular photo spot because Jay Chou had come here before, but because of this incident, there’s no way I can take any photos,” 29-year-old tourist Gao Jia from Xinjiang, China, told CNN.
“I was thinking, with the sunset, this place would look beautiful … now I just feel very disappointed,” she added.
Tanjong Beach Club, which is usually crowded on weekends, wore a deserted look with just a few diners watching the shoreline, which was shut off with tape and warning signs, reported Bloomberg.
The oil spill also spread to Sentosa Cove, a residential enclave with more than 2,000 homes.
Some residents told CNA they woke up to a sharp “kerosene” odour whiffing into their homes. “I felt as if someone was painting or washing something with a chemical product, then I realised when I looked into the ocean, that I saw a different colour,” Sergio Abe, who stays in The Coast condominium, said.
Clean-up begins
Authorities have stepped up measures to clean the oil spill.
About 100 workers were pressed into action across Sentosa’s beaches on Monday (17 June), a spokesperson from the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) told CNN.
Black oil coated sand and rocks at Tanjong Beach, where clean-up crews and lifeguards worked donning protective gear. Several cleaners were seen at the beach with shovels and black garbage bags, dredging the leaked oil and pollutants into the bags, according to CNA.
Singapore’s National Parks Board deployed oil-absorbent booms to protect mangroves at a coastal natural reserve.
About 1.5 kilometers of containment booms have been erected to trap the oil. Over the next few days, another 1.6 kilometers of temporary barriers will be set up to stop the oil from further spreading to the shore, AP reported citing a statement by authorities.
Environmental concerns about oil leak
The scale of environmental damage is yet to be determined. Local conservation group Marine Stewards posted pictures of birds covered in oil on its Facebook page.
Photos of a small dead fish and an oil-soaked kingfisher also surfaced.
Marine Stewards founder Sue Ye said that one kingfisher was rescued from Marina at Keppel Bay and another was covered in oil at Lazarus Island. “We do not know if all of the oil is getting adequately cleaned up, or how long that will take, as the oil spill covers a large area between Pasir Panjang all the way to East Coast Park. Cleaning up the oil may involve the introduction of even more chemicals into the water that could affect marine life,” she told CNA.
Experts also sounded alarm about fossil fuels that are harming the planet.
Speaking to CNN, Heng Kiah Chun, regional campaign strategist for Greenpeace, said the incident was a “wake-up call” to phase out fossil fuels. “The oil spill is a growing environmental catastrophe that is impacting some of the region’s most important and biodiverse marine protected areas and fisheries areas,” Heng said.
We will have to wait to find out the actual extent of the damage caused by the oil leak in Singapore.
With inputs from agencies
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