Singapore Oil Spill During Bunker Operation for Bulker

 

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is reporting an oil spill during a bunkering operation in one of its anchorages that was quickly controlled.  They believe that the oil has been dispersed but as a precaution, a vessel with a boom was deployed into the Changi region in case oil was spotted.

The bulker Ines Corrado was laying over in Singapore and bunkered while in the anchorage. The 81,272 dwt bulker registered in the Bahamans and operated by Gestin Maritime is bound for China. 

The bunkering operation was underway with an unnamed licensed vessel when the spill was reported at 5:40 p.m. local time on Monday, October 28. The response team arrived in about 10 minutes and began spraying dispersants. Estimates are that five tons of oil overflowed during the bunkering operation.

 

Video courtesy of MPA and prepared by TT Salvage Asia Pte Ltd

 

A survey of the area this morning showed no visible oil in the area. The MPA will investigate the incident.

It was the third recent oil spill in one of the world’s busiest bunker ports but smaller than the other recent reports. Nine days ago, Shell reported a leak from one of its land-based pipelines. About 30 to 40 tonnes of Slop (mix of oil and water) leaked. Multiple Singapore agencies were involved in the clean-up operation.

The port had a more serve incident in June when the dredger Vox Maxima blacked out and hit the bunker vessel Marine Honour. About 400 tonnes of fuel were released from the bunker vessel which sustained significant damage.