Ministerial statement: Chee Hong Tat on Pasir Panjang Terminal oil spill

In Parliament on Tuesday (Jul 2), Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat delivered a ministerial statement on the oil spill at Pasir Panjang Terminal on Jun 14 which led to the closure of several public beaches across Singapore. His statement was one of three, in response to more than two dozen questions filed by Members of the House. Mr Chee reiterated a chronology of the incident that caused the spill - where a dredger hit a bunker vessel at the terminal - and the steps taken afterwards. The points he addressed included why containment booms were not immediately deployed from the port authority vessel that arrived first on the scene. Mr Chee explained that those booms were lightweight and unsuitable for dealing with the scale of the spill. Instead, the focus was on spraying dispersants quickly to break down the oil. This is an established procedure, in line with international practices, Mr Chee said. He also spoke about the use of oil skimmers, which experts consider to be most effective against large, thick patches of oil. The location of these patches had to be determined, but this was challenging for several reasons including poor visibility due to thundery showers on the day of the spill. The oil skimmers were deployed the following morning. Mr Chee also laid out the timeline of public communications. He said the port authority and other agencies issued five media statements in the first four days of the incident to keep the public informed and address key concerns. The minister said standard operating procedures and contingency plans will be updated and improved with learning points from this incident. In the meantime, investigations continue, clean-up operations have entered a second phase of “focused cleaning” in hard-to-reach areas, and the removal of fuel oil from the damaged vessel is ongoing.