Overflow during bunkering causes another oil spill in Singapore
Another oil spill has happened in Singapore. Approximately 5 tonnes of fuel oil flowed into the waters while Ines Corrado, a 2012-built Bahamas-flagged Kamsarmax bulk carrier owned by Turkey’s Gestion Maritime, was being bunkered on 28 October.
Vessel-tracking data from S&P Global showed that Ines Corrado had stopped in Singapore for bunkering, while sailing from Rio Grande, Brazil, to Tianjin, China. The data suggests that Ines Corrado was being bunkered by Pacific Spirit, a bunker tanker operated by Consort Bunkers.
It is believed that around 5.40 pm local time, the fuel oil had overflowed on the port side of Ines Corrado during the bunkering operation, which was promptly halted.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said its patrol craft arrived at the scene in 10 minutes and had sprayed dispersants on the leaked oil.
MPA stated, “As of 8 am this morning, there is no oil sighted at sea in the vicinity of the incident and ashore. As a precautionary measure, a current buster has been deployed off Changi to recover oil on water, if sighted. The Malaysian authorities have been alerted to keep a lookout for oil sightings. MPA will be investigating the incident.”
It is the second oil spill in just over a week, after 30 to 40 tonnes of slop, a mixture of oil and water, leaked from Shell’s land-based pipeline into the sea. The oil major placed containment booms and assigned dispersants-equipped craft to clean up the leaked oil.
Additionally, it is the third oil spill in Singapore this year, after the city-state suffered its worst oil spill in a decade. In June, 400 tonnes of fuel oil leaked into the sea, after a Van Oord dredger, Vox Maxima, lost propulsion and became involved with an allision with Marine Honour, a bunker tanker operated by Straits Bunkering, at Pasir Panjang Terminal.
