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.
In response to CNA's queries, the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said on Monday evening that it has been informed of the incident, adding that "there are no oil sightings or smell at all our beaches".
The waters of Tanjong, Palawan, and Siloso Beach also remain open for water activities.
"As a precautionary measure, we have deployed oil absorbent booms around Tanjong Beach, Palawan Beach, Siloso Beach, Sentosa Golf Club, ONE15 Marina Club and Sentosa Cove."
"We are monitoring the situation closely with relevant agencies and will provide updates on our Facebook page and website in due course," said SDC.
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 SEASeven 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 Singaporequeen9play, with clean-up operations recently completed in early September.
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