Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Transport Mr Chee Hong Tat on the Pasir Panjang Terminal Oil Spill Incident on 14 June 2024

1.      Mr Speaker, Members have filed a total of 40 Parliamentary Questions on the oil spill incident that occurred on 14 June.  Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Ms Grace Fu, Minister for National Development Mr Desmond Lee and I will be making Ministerial Statements to address the issues raised.

2.      Our statements will address Questions 1 to 27 for oral answer and Questions 65 to 67 for written answer, in today’s Order Paper, as well as related questions that have been filed for subsequent sittings.

Initial Response 

3.      The quick response to the oil spill which occurred in our waters on 14 June demonstrated the close coordination and collaboration among our agencies, industry partners and volunteers. They worked well together and responded effectively to mitigate the impact of the oil spill.

4.     We have completed the first phase of the clean-up operations, including the operations at sea. Since 18 June, no oil slick has been observed along East Coast and Changi, including the waters off Changi Naval Base. We have now moved to the next phase, which involves more focused cleaning of difficult-to-reach areas. The removal of the remaining fuel oil from the damaged vessel is ongoing.

5.     Let me provide Members with a chronology of the incident and the steps taken.

a.     The allision between the vessels VOX MAXIMA and MARINE HONOUR happened on 14 June at 2.18pm.  MPA was notified at 2.22pm and its first patrol craft arrived at the incident site 11 minutes later at 2.33pm. 

b.     Upon confirming that a significant amount of oil had spilled into the water, the patrol craft sprayed dispersant in the surrounding areas. This needs to be done quickly, so that the dispersant can start to break down the oil, which will facilitate subsequent cleaning operations at sea and on land.  Otherwise, the oil will harden over time and become more difficult to remove.

c.     Besides the initial patrol vessel, 11 more vessels from MPA and their contractors were deployed to perform different roles during the initial phase of the response on 14 June. 

d.     MPA also checked the damaged vessel to ensure that it would not sink, the crew were safe and there was no further spillage of oil.

e.     MPA then activated T&T Salvage Asia to lay heavy-duty containment booms around the damaged vessel.  T&T’s vessel arrived at the incident location at 9.41pm on 14 June, as it took a few hours to load the vessel with the heavy equipment and another few hours to sail to the incident site.

f.     Despite the challenges of working at night and under bad weather conditions, T&T did well to deploy 200 metres of oil booms around the damaged vessel by working through the night.  The deployment of the oil booms was completed at 5.15am on 15 June.

6.     Some have asked why MPA did not immediately deploy the containment booms onboard its patrol vessel while waiting for T&T’s vessel to arrive.

a.     The booms onboard the MPA patrol vessel are lightweight oil containment booms which are suitable for dealing quickly with small-scale and localised oil spills, such as oil leakages during bunkering operations.  These lightweight booms were assessed to be unsuitable for dealing with the oil spill incident on 14 June, which was a more serious spill involving the sudden discharge of an estimated 400 tonnes of oil into the sea.

b.     For such spills, the patrol vessel will focus on spraying dispersants, and deploy contractors to lay heavy-duty oil containment booms around the damaged vessel as a preventive measure in case there is further spillage of oil from the vessel.

c.     This is the established procedure, which is in line with international practices for dealing with oil spills, and the MPA response team on the patrol vessel followed the procedure correctly.

7.    I had explained during last week’s joint press conference that the main purpose of the containment booms around the damaged vessel was not to “fence in” all the spilled oil.

a.     When there is a sudden discharge of a large amount of oil, like what happened on 14 June, the spilled oil will not remain stationary at the incident site. It will be carried by tidal currents and waves to other locations.  The containment booms were therefore intended as a preventive measure in case there was further oil spillage from the damaged vessel.

c.     The containment boom can also help to catch some of the oil spill which remained in the vicinity of the incident location and did not float elsewhere.  But this is not 100% foolproof, because the tidal currents and waves can carry the oil to go below or above the booms.

Clean-up operations

Oil Skimmers

8.     In addition to laying containment booms around the damaged vessel, we also deployed oil skimmers. Based on guidance from industry experts such as ITOPF, oil skimmers are most effective against large and thick patches of oil.

a.     Hence, before deploying the skimmers, MPA and its contractors had to first confirm the location of the large oil patches. This task was challenging for a number of reasons. 

b.     First, due to thundery showers on 14 June afternoon, visibility was poor and the vessels from MPA and their contractors were not able to spot large patches of oil in the sea in the first few hours after the incident.

c.     Second, as the density of the spilled oil, in this case, is very close to that of seawater, the oil slicks might have gone below the water surface, making detection harder.

d.     When night fell, the reduced visibility made it even more difficult for MPA and its contractors to locate the spilled oil.

e.     Throughout its response, MPA used a multi-pronged approach involving drones, satellite imagery and sightings from ships at sea and personnel on the ground to confirm the location of large oil patches.

f.     In the morning of 15 June, when large oil patches were located, MPA deployed oil skimmers to skim the oil from the sea.

Targeted Deployment of Booms

9.     MPA and its contractors also carried out the targeted deployment of booms along our coastlines and waterfronts to facilitate clean-up operations. This approach ensures the booms are placed where they can be most effective. In response to Mr Louis Chua’s question, MPA did not prioritise oil collection in certain areas before deploying booms to contain the spill. 

a.     Preventive measures were also implemented at biodiversity sensitive areas such as the Chek Jawa Wetlands at Pulau Ubin, given the potential environmental impact.

b.     We have deployed a total of around 4,000m of oil containment booms. To Mr Christopher de Souza’s question, our contractors also used absorbent booms with hydrophobic content.

10.    Our clean-up methods and operations are guided by international experts from ITOPF, and our agencies work closely with specialised companies and contractors who have strong track records in responding to oil spills. We work with them on the deployment of assets to ensure optimal outcomes, taking into account factors such as the geography of the area, weather conditions, prevailing winds and tidal conditions.

Public Communications

11.    Some Members have asked about the timeliness of our communications to the public. Our agencies had provided regular updates from the day of the incident on 14 June. Our approach is to push out relevant information to the public as soon as possible, such as information on air and water quality, while we continue with the operations at sea and on land to deal with an evolving situation. Minister Grace Fu, Minister Desmond Lee and I also provided updates on the management and impact of the oil spill in the days following the incident. Please allow me to elaborate on the communications timeline.

a.     On the afternoon of 14 June, MPA informed the other agencies of the oil spillage. After being alerted, the agencies mobilised their staff to actively monitor the situation and stood ready to respond.

b.    At 6.03pm that day, MPA notified the public of the allision and oil spill through a media release while it continued to assess and respond to the developing situation.

c.     At around 9.20pm, SDC began to cordon off affected parts of Palawan beach, when they first sighted oil on the beach.

d.     Early next morning on 15 June at about 7am, SDC observed further spread of oil in waters at Palawan, Siloso and Tanjong beaches, cordoned off affected areas and deployed workers to commence clean-up. At 10.59am, SDC published a post on their Facebook page and website to inform the public that the waters of Tanjong, Palawan and Siloso Beach on Sentosa were closed for clean-up operations, but the three beaches remained open.

e.     At 1.44pm, MPA notified the public via a media statement that patches of oil and light sheens were observed off Pasir Panjang Terminal and along Sentosa beaches.

f.     NEA started clean-up operations at about 10am at Labrador Nature Reserve and around 4pm at East Coast Park, after oil was observed along the shorelines.

g.     Later that day at 7.33pm, a joint media statement was issued by the agencies to inform the public that oil had also landed along shorelines in other areas, and that affected beaches would be closed to facilitate clean-up operations. The statement highlighted that the agencies were taking action to mitigate the effects of the oil spill.

h.     MPA and our agencies had issued 5 media statements in the first 4 days of the incident to keep the public informed of the management of the incident and to address key concerns they might have. These media statements and other updates were also posted on the social media platforms of the agencies.

Investigations and Learning Points

12.    Investigations into the incident are ongoing, and preliminary findings showed that the allision was caused by the dredger experiencing sudden loss of engine and steering controls.

13.     Some Members have asked about possible measures to prevent oil spills in future. Over the years, we have taken steps to enhance the safety of vessels and bunkering operations, to minimise the risk of accidents and oil spills in our waters. We have also put in place practices such as mandatory safety training and shipboard drills for vessel crew on incident response, as well as inspections for vessels in our port to ensure compliance with international safety conventions.

14.    While we do our best to reduce the risks, oil spills may still happen in our waters or in the region. It is not possible to completely eliminate this risk.  Therefore, we have prepared for and maintained our readiness to respond in a prompt, coordinated and effective manner when such incidents occur.

a.     We have worked with industry partners to develop a contingency plan, which we rehearse and refine every two years during our inter-agency exercises for oil spills.

b.     Our SOPs were enhanced along the way, and they helped us respond to this incident effectively.

c.     We will continue to update and improve our SOPs and contingency plans with learning points from this incident, and prepare our teams to deal with oil spills effectively through training and regular inter-agency exercises.

15.    Before I conclude, I would like to once again express my appreciation to our agencies, our industry partners and our volunteers for their hard work and the good progress made so far. There is more work ahead to complete the next phase of the clean-up operations, and to mitigate the impact of the oil spill.  Let us continue to work closely together, so that we can return to normalcy as soon as possible.

16.    Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will respond to any clarifications which Members may have, after my colleagues have made their statements.  Thank you.