‘Not as useful’ to compare government’s response times for 3 recent oil spills, says Murali Pillai

SINGAPORE: It is not useful to compare the three most recent oil spill incidents in Singapore, as they are of very different natures, Minister of State for Transport Murali Pillai said on Monday (Nov 11). 
Mr Murali was responding to questions by Members of Parliament about oil spill and leak incidents on Jun 14, Oct 20 and Oct 28 this year. 
At least eight MPs from both sides of the House filed questions, asking about the underlying causes of the incidents, response times, environmental impact, and mitigation measures against re-occurrences. 
In response, Mr Murali, who is also Minister of State for Law, stressed that the nature and scale of each incident was different, with the cause of each incident unrelated to the others. 
The Jun 14 incident, which led to beaches around Singapore being closed, was due to an allision between a dredger – Vox Maxima – and a bunker tanker – Marine Honour – at Pasir Panjang Terminal, resulting in a discharge of around 400 tonnes of oil into the sea. Allision refers to when a moving vessel hits a stationary object. 
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has completed its investigations and assessed that key crew members of Netherlands-flagged Vox Maxima failed to discharge their duties properly, said Mr Murali. 
The four men were charged in the State Courts on Nov 6 under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.  
The Oct 20 incident was a result of a leak in Shell’s land-based pipeline at Bukom, leading to about 30 to 40 tonnes of slop – a mixture of oil and water – leaking into the sea. 
The Oct 28 incident was due to an overflow of bunker fuel in the receiving vessel during a bunkering operation off Changi. As a result, about 5 tonnes of oil overflowed into the sea, which Mr Murali noted was “a much smaller amount” compared to the Jun 14 incident. 
“Given the very different natures, scales and locations of the three incidents, the time and resources required to monitor, clean up and mitigate the spread of oil from these three incidents were different.
“It is therefore not as useful to compare the response times for these incidents,” said Mr Murali. 
Once it became aware of the incident, MPA coordinated with other agencies such as the National Environment Agency (NEA), National Parks Board (NParks), Singapore’s national water agency PUB to “activate resources and capabilities to respond”. 
For the incidents in October, the agencies activated an emergency operations team which implemented precautionary measures to monitor and prevent the further spread of oil. 
These include the activation of craft to spray dispersants, and the installation of oil absorbent booms to protect beaches and biodiversity sensitive areas. 
For the oil leak on Oct 20, Shell activated resources to clean up the leaked slop in the channel between Pulau Bukom and Pulau Bukom Kechil, with operations completed nine days later, Mr Murali said.
Agencies have stood down seaward oil response assets and the booms that were earlier deployed as no other oil sightings at sea and ashore have arisen from these incidents, he added. 
Responding to MP Dennis Tan’s (WP-Hougang) query on the timeline for the discovery of the oil leak, Mr Murali said that the leak in Shell’s pipeline reportedly occurred at around 5.30am on Oct 20. 
Shell alerted MPA at around 1pm. MPA then alerted NEA shortly after.
Mr Murali said that NEA and MPA are investigating the incident, including the time taken before Shell notified the agencies. 
“According to the rules, Shell is supposed to inform MPA and NEA as soon as possible when they detected the leak. If there are lapses by Shell, the agencies will take the necessary enforcement actions against the company,” he added. 
Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor also addressed briefly NEA’s investigation into the matter in response to a separate question filed by NCMP Hazel Poa (PSP). 
Ms Poa asked if the government would be checking the structural integrity of all oil pipelines in Singapore’s waters. 
Dr Khor replied that NEA was reviewing the measures that Shell has in place at its facility. 
“As an interim measure, NEA has directed Shell to carry out a comprehensive pipeline integrity check across their Bukom plant,” she said. 
Addressing questions about alert and monitoring systems in place, Mr Murali said involved parties are required under the law to notify the authorities immediately when there is a discharge of oil into water or on land.
MPA has a surveillance system to identify and monitor oil sightings, including regular patrols by MPA patrol craft, he said. The agency also informs agencies to be on standby to deploy resources to prevent further pollution or facilitate clean-up operations for seaward spills. 
In a supplementary question, Mr Tan asked what regular checks owners of oil pipelines had to conduct to ensure the integrity of all pipelines.
“How does MPA ensure that these inspections and checks are carried out so that repairs and maintenance can be carried out in advance of (oil leakages)?” asked Mr Tan. He also asked if there were plans to improve response times from MPA’s oil spill response contractor. 
Mr Murali clarified that NEA would be responsible for checks of land-based pipelines, as was the case for the Shell incident. 
He added that the relevant agencies will work with industry players to minimise the risk of oil spills, including a contingency plan which is rehearsed and refined regularly. The authorities have an inter-agency exercise for oil spills every two years. 
“It is important for us to recognise that every oil spill incident is different as there are a variety of external factors, such as tidal and current conditions, the location of the incident and the time of the incident. Some tailoring of our response to each incident will be needed,” he said. 
To queries on the environmental impact of the incidents, Mr Murali said that NParks has not observed any immediate impact on marine and coastal ecosystems and wildlife. The Singapore Food Agency also has not observed any immediate impact on fisheries. 
“No oil from the October incidents has landed on any of our recreational beaches. PUB is also monitoring the seawater intakes at its desalination plants, and readings remain normal,” said Mr Murali. 
In a supplementary question, MP Cheryl Chan (PAP-East Coast) asked if an environmental impact study will be conducted for every oil spill, and how long each monitoring period will be. 
Mr Murali replied: “After every oil spill, every incident, there will be a study to see what are the lessons that can be drawn. And then we look to see how we can improve our plans that (are) in place as well, and also engage the respective stakeholders.”