Clean Up After Collision Progresses

The clean-up operation for the oil spill that resulted from a collision between the Thailand-registered freighter, MV Hermion and the Singapore-registered bunker tanker, Neptank VII, at 0145hrs about 4.5km south-east of Sentosa, has made good progress. Oil patches sighted by an aerial recce conducted from 0900hrs to 1100hrs have been cleaned up by the anti-pollution craft deployed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). The dispersant-treated oil patches (i.e. light oil sheens) were sighted in the waters about 5 km south and south-east of Bedok Jetty. There has been no report of the oil affecting any of the islands or mainland Singapore. The MPA has deployed oil booms off the waters of Marina Bay and Sentosa as a precautionary measure. Eleven anti-oil pollution craft and about 100 personnel are continuing with the clean-up operation and are closely monitoring the southern and eastern waters of the Singapore port for signs of new oil patches. At the time of the incident, MV Hermion was bound for Penang and leaving the Eastern Anchorage. Neptank VII was proceeding from the western sector to the Eastern Petroleum B Anchorage. MV Hermion and Neptank VII are currently anchored in the Eastern Holding B Anchorage. They remain in stable condition. Port operations including the oil refineries and power plants and vessel traffic are not affected and continue to function normally.