365days2playOur very own oil spill in Singapore. Heh. Thanks a lot Bunga Kelana 3 and Wally!!!!! Even though I don’t live near the coastline (according to Singapore standards), I can still smell the acrid petroleum fumes! In my own house! Tell me what am I supposed to breathe?
This highlights the precarious situation we are in! Just imagine if it were a larger oil spill. Today’s oil spill was 2000 tonnes of crude oil. What if it were 20,000 tonnes, or 200,000 tonnes (the theoretical maximum from 1 ship) of crude oil???? Would the fumes be so bad that we would all die from it????? I heard that when the Deep Horizon leaked, the journalists could still smell the fumes 4 days from the incident. Although that is a far bigger mishap, it was also much further out to sea!
Please join me to pray for the winds to change and for rain.
By Angela Lim — May 25th, 2010
Emergency teams scramble to contain nearly 2,000 tonnes of crude oil that leaked into the Singapore Strait after two vessels collided in the busy waterway, according to port officials.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) reveals that the Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 has been damaged in a collision with a bulk carrier MV Wally registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
According to Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency, the collision tore a 10-metre gash in the Malaysian tanker.
The tanker’s operators, Malaysia-based AET, said in a statement, ”Oil booms are being placed around the leaked cargo to contain the spill.”
Nobody was injured in the accident and ship traffic in the area has not been affected by the incident that took place 13 km off Singapore in the Traffic Separation Scheme at 6.10am Tuesday, according to the release.
The Traffic Separation Scheme is a commercial channel that runs along the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
In the aftermath of the accident, both vessels were anchored off Singapore and neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia have been notified.
Salvage operators interviewed said that the spill could be damaging for the environment but a swift response by the authorities would significantly lessen the impact.
”I think it can be controlled. 2,000 tonnes will not do much damage if the teams are already there,” a salvage operator tells AFP.
