Chee Hong Tat: Booms deployed around damaged vessel not meant to fence in spilled oil

SINGAPORE: Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat explained that deploying containment booms after the Pasir Panjang Terminal allision incident was time-consuming. He clarified that these booms were not meant to “fence in” the spilt oil but rather served as a preventive measure against any further spillage from the damaged vessel.

During a press conference on 24 June, a reporter asked the minister why there was no initial information in the first press release on 14 June about the possible spread of the oil, which led to some surprise among the public when oil washed ashore later.

The media also queried the Minister whether there is room for improvement in the deployment time of containment booms during such oil spills, given the critical need for a quick response.

The oil spill occurred after a Netherlands-flagged dredger struck the Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour on 14 June, causing oil from the latter’s damaged cargo tank to spill into the water.

In response, Mr Chee defended the response times of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and its contractor, T&T Salvage Asia, stating that they adhere to international industry standards.

He emphasized that upon discovering the oil spill, the immediate priority was to prevent further leakage from Marine Honour.

This involved ensuring the vessel’s stability and safety, securing the crew, and halting any ongoing oil release from the damaged tank.

“Because if you have oil that continues to come out in large amounts from the vessel, I think that will make the situation even worse. ”

He emphasized the urgency of promptly applying dispersants to prevent the oil from hardening, which would complicate cleanup efforts both at sea and on land.

The first MPA patrol craft arrived 11 minutes after the incident at 2:33 pm to spray dispersants in the water.

Following the initial response operations, at 2:55 pm, MPA contacted T&T Salvage Asia to deploy containment booms around the damaged bunker vessel.

Mr Chee said the team from T&T Salvage required several hours to load the heavy equipment and additional time to sail to the site. Their boat arrived at the site at 9:41 pm.

They completed laying 200m of booms around Marine Honour at 5.15 am on 15 June – nearly 15 hours after the incident.

He explained that the deployment process can be time-consuming due to various factors such as weather conditions (daytime versus nighttime operations) and the logistical challenge of handling a spill of this scale.

“Deploying the containment boom around the damaged vessel will take several hours, including the time for the vessel to arrive at the incident site and the time taken to fully deploy the booms,” said Mr Chee.

“During this time, we must expect a significant amount of the oil that has been spilt into the sea to be carried by tidal currents and waves to other locations away from the incident site. This is unavoidable, especially during more serious oil spill incidents, like what we experienced on 14 June.”

Mr Chee added that while containment booms can capture some oil near the incident site, they are not foolproof against tidal movements which can carry oil both below and above the booms.

Responding to questions about placing preventive booms across all of Singapore’s coastlines, Mr Chee stated it is impractical due to logistical constraints.

Deploying booms along the entire southern coastline, from Pasir Panjang to East Coast, would require over 46km of booms.

Mr Chee noted that booms require regular maintenance and replacement due to weather and wave impacts, including potential snapping.

In total, over 3,400m of booms were deployed to contain trapped oil and prevent it from re-entering the sea or reaching inland canals in Singapore.

For example, on 17 June, 1,500m of booms were set up at three beaches on Sentosa Island, Keppel Marina entrance, Labrador Nature Reserve, East Coast Park, and West Coast Park. An additional 1,600m of booms were deployed on 18 June at various beaches on Sentosa, Labrador Nature Reserve, and the Southern Islands.