Singapore races to clean-up oil slick from resort island of Sentosa, nature reserve

Oil that leaked from a damaged Netherlands-flagged dredger was treated with dispersants, but tidal currents caused it to wash up on shore

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Workers clean up the oil slick on Sentosa Island’s Tanjong Beach in Singapore on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:16pm, 16 Jun 2024

An oil spill caused by a dredger boat hitting a stationary cargo tanker has blackened part of Singapore’s southern coastline, including the popular resort island of Sentosa, and sparked concerns it may threaten marine wildlife as a clean-up operation was under way Sunday.

The Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima struck the Singaporean fuel supply ship Marine Honor on Friday. It damaged the cargo tank on Marine Honor, which leaked oil into the sea.

The Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima is seen anchored off the coast of Sentosa island in Singapore on Saturday. Photo: Bloomberg

Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said in a statement late on Saturday that the oil leak from the vessel had been contained, and that the oil that escaped from the damaged tanker had been treated with dispersants.

But due to tidal currents, it said the treated oil had landed along shorelines including at Sentosa and other southern islands, a nature reserve and a public beach park. Sentosa, which attracts millions of visitors annually, houses one of Singapore’s two casinos, golf courses and Southeast Asia’s only Universal Studios theme park.

Part of the beachfront at the public park and at the nature reserve have been closed to facilitate clean-up efforts, it said. The Sentosa beach will remain open to the public but sea activities and swimming are prohibited.

Workers clean up the oil spill along Sentosa’s Tanjong Beach area on Sunday. Photo: AP

On Sunday, workers in orange suits were seen scooping up sand in a clean-up operation at an empty beach in Sentosa. Black water washed up on the oil-stained shore.