SINGAPORE: At least a hundred workers have been deployed to clean up Changi Beach after a collision between two container vessels resulted in 300 tonnes of oil spilling into surrounding waters.
Colourful plastic bags containing oily black sand lined the banks of Changi Point Ferry Terminal and stretched all the way along Changi Beach on Thursday (Jan 5), as the workers tried to contain the aftermath of the spill.
A worker picking up bags of oily black sand. (Photo: Winnie Goh)
When Channel NewsAsia visited the beach on Thursday afternoon, workers were scooping sand into the plastic bags, and there was an unmistakable smell of oil in the air.
A worker clearing oily black sand from Changi Beach. (Photo: Winnie Goh)
A supervisor said his workers started cleaning the beach before sunrise and they were into the second round of cleaning.
Another source, who declined to be identified, said workers will clean the stretch of the beach for a third time when the tide is low and has receded, leaving more oil on the beach. He said the clean-up is expected to take “a few days” but that the worst is over.
Workers were seen putting up signs along the beach for members of the public, warning them that the water is contaminated and saying the beach is closed.
A sign informing members of the public that Changi Beach is closed, and that waters are contaminated. (Photo: Winnie Goh)
Channel NewsAsia also understands that authorities are combing places such as Pulau Ubin and Coney Island and are also using aerial search methods to check for oil patches.
Nearby at Changi Point Ferry Terminal, where ferries depart for Pulau Ubin, workers had placed oil booms and oil absorbent pads into the water. The oil boom collects the oil and prevents it from contaminating the other side. Oil absorbent pads that look like cotton patches absorb and allow the oil to coagulate in one area, making it easier for workers to collect the oil from the water.
Oil absorbent pads help the oil coagulate in an area. (Photo: Winnie Goh)
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore was notified about the collision, involving a Singapore-registered container vessel and a Gibraltar-registered container vessel, at about 11.50pm on Tuesday, it said in a media release on Wednesday. The authority added that it would investigate the cause of the collision.
So far, three coastal fish farms in the Eastern Johor Straits have been affected by the oil spill, according to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore. One farm reported a loss of about 100 to 200kg of fish.
