Oil spill incident: Contractor was not slow in preventing further spillage, says Chee

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat has addressed questions on the time it took for a contractor to prevent further oil spillage following an allision between a dredger and a bunker vessel at Pasir Panjang Terminal on June 14.

After Chee delivered his ministerial statement on the oil spill incident in Parliament on Tuesday (July 2), Workers' Party MP Dennis Tan noted that it took over 14 hours for Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's (MPA) contractor T&T Salvage Asia to deploy 200m of containment booms around the damaged vessel Marine Honour.

He then asked the transport minister why Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL), the largest international industry-funded cooperative providing oil spill response services, was not mobilised concurrently with T&T immediately after the allision.

Such a move would have prevented the oil spill from spreading further into Singapore waters, said Tan, who is also a practising lawyer at a maritime law firm. 

Responding to Tan's question, Chee said: "There is a certain underlying assumption (from Tan) that T&T had been slow and had not been doing its work properly. That's not the case."

"Mr Tan is a maritime lawyer, I'm sure he understands that these are not lightweight equipment. These are heavy equipment that will require time to load up onto the vessel," Chee added.

In his ministerial statement, Chee had said that it took a few hours for the T&T to load its vessel with heavy equipment and then sail to the site of the incident.

He added that the contractor "did well" despite the challenges of working at night and under bad weather conditions.

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In the Parliament sitting on Tuesday, Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu and National Development Minister Desmond Lee also delivered separate ministerial statements, after MPs had filed 40 questions about the oil spill.

These included queries on the subsequent clean-up operations, impact on Singapore's wildlife, as well as measures to help affected businesses cope with the loss of takings and footfall.

Measures to help businesses affected by oil spill: Grace Fu

Businesses affected by the oil spill will get more help to cope with their financial losses, said Environment Minister Grace Fu.

"The agencies are developing rental deferral measures to help affected businesses with their cash flow, on a case-by-case basis," she told the House.

Fu, who is also Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, added: "We understand the frustration and inconvenience that businesses have experienced due to the oil spill.

"That is why Sentosa Development Corporation, which manages Sentosa and businesses on the Southern Islands, and other agencies such as NParks that collectively manage the beachfront along East Coast Park, have been proactively reaching out to their tenants."

The economic losses resulting from the oil spill can also be assessed for insurance claims, she said.

Responding to a question by Progress Singapore Party's NCMP Hazel Poa on whether the government will provide additional forms of support such as compensation or bridging loans, Fu said: "We cannot take a standard approach or one standard solution for the businesses, (but) government agencies will be very prepared to listen to the plight of businesses and see how we can best help them".

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Over 700 volunteers deployed in clean-up efforts: Desmond Lee

More than 700 volunteers had been deployed in oil spill management efforts as of July 1, National Development Minister Desmond Lee told Parliament on Tuesday.

Some of them have joined NParks to patrol East Coast Park and West Coast Park to advise members of the public to stay away from affected beaches, while volunteers from the Friends of Marine Park have also been carrying out surveys on St John's Island and Lazarus Island to track the impact on biodiversity there.

Over 1,500 people have signed up to help with oil spill management efforts, Lee said, adding that another 2,000 people have registered their interest in being kept updated on ongoing efforts and future volunteering opportunities.

"We are very grateful to our volunteers for their strong support, and to members of the public, nature groups and other organisations for coming together alongside our frontline workers and colleagues to mitigate the impacts of the oil spill," he added.

On the actions taken to mitigate environmental impact, Lee said that NParks have deployed over 1.5 kilometres of oil-absorbent booms to protect biodiversity-sensitive coastal and marine areas, including Berlayer Creek and the Rocky Shore along Labrador Nature Reserve.

Noting that some oil was detected near Changi on June 17, he added that agencies deployed booms around "biodiversity-sensitive" areas, such as at Chek Jawa Wetlands at Pulau Ubin, Coney Island Park, and Pasir Ris Park as preventive measures.

"While no significant impact on our marine biodiversity and wildlife has been observed thus far, the situation remains dynamic, and there could be a time-lag between the oil spill and its effects on our biodiversity and habitats," he told the House.

"Some of the impact on our marine and coastal ecosystems may only show up weeks or even months later, such as during spawning periods. Assessments of the environmental impact of the oil spill on our offshore islands are also still ongoing".

ALSO READ: Oil spill incident not due to congestion at port, clean-up will take time: Chee Hong Tat

chingshijie@asiaone.com