SINGAPORE: Beaches on three Singapore islands will be closed until further notice, the authorities said on Sunday evening (Jun 16) after an oil spill on Friday spread to several coastlines.
The beaches at St John’s, Lazarus and Kusu Islands will be shut after oil slick was seen at the first two islands.
Staff from NParks, together with volunteers from Friends of Marine Park, visited St John’s and Lazarus islands on Sunday morning to observe and document the impact of the oil spill in these areas.
The closure of the beaches at the islands is in addition to areas B to H of East Coast Park, as well as the jetty and rocky shore of Labrador Nature Reserve, which have been closed since Saturday.
Sentosa’s beaches remain open to the public, but sea activities and swimming are still not allowed at Tanjong, Palawan and Siloso beaches.
As of 1.30pm on Sunday, there were no signs of oil slick within Sisters’ Islands Marine Park but oil sheen was seen in the surrounding waters.
The latest update on Sunday evening (Jun 16) was a joint statement by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), the National Environment Agency (NEA), the National Parks Board (NParks) and Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC).
Oil washed up on some of Singapore’s beaches after dredger Vox Mariner hit bunker vessel Marine Honour at Pasir Panjang Terminal at about 2.20pm on Friday.
The collision caused some oil from a cargo tank on the bunker vessel to spill into the water.
MPA is working with British Marine, the insurer of the stationary tanker, to set up a contact for third-party claims by “affected parties who have been impacted”.
They can email marinehonour [at] helmsmanlaw.com.
