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The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has confirmed that the northern part of the Pasir Panjang Container Terminal (PPT) has been cleared of oil slicks that resulted from a vessel strike that occurred on June 14. PPT was the location of the oil spillage following the June 14, 2024 allision between the Netherlands-registered dredger Vox Maxima and the stationary bunker tanker Marine Honour.
The northern part of PPT has been cleared of slicks following the deployment of an oil recovery and containment system since Tuesday, June 11. Thorough cleaning of the oil-stained Berth 36 near the allision area using high-pressure jets is on-going.
The MPA said the deployment of the recovery and containment system at this upstream location is important to prevent surface oil from flowing westwards towards West Coast Park and also eastward towards downstream locations, including Sentosa beaches, Sentosa Cove, Southern Islands, and Keppel Marina. The oil recovery operations at sea are guided by the MPA's and Meteorological Service Singapore's predictive modelling of tidal and wind conditions as well as drone and satellite imagery.
Three such recovery and containment systems have been deployed. Two systems capable of five tonnes of recovered oil per load are deployed off western affected areas at PPT and Sentosa. The other system capable of 35 tonnes load is deployed off eastern affected areas off East Coast and Changi East as a precaution to recover any oil and prevent further spread. Another 35 tonnes-load system will be deployed shortly.
The total length of booms deployed since June 14 is 3,400 metres. This is more than the approximate 3,100 meters originally planned.
The MPA has also assured that no fish farms have been affected by the oil spill. Nonetheless, as a precautionary measure, the Singapore Food Agency has taken fish samples from coastal fish farms in the East Johor Strait for food safety tests. The test results confirmed that local fish are safe for consumption.
