SINGAPORE (CNA) – A week following a major oil spill of 400 tonnes in Singapore’s waters, efforts continue to clean up both at sea and on land. Off Sentosa, containment booms have required repair and reinforcement due to turbulent weather that caused several to snap.
One clean-up company brought in additional manpower from abroad to beef up its operations. Plus, the toxic oil-soaked sand collected from the affected beaches has to be carefully processed at a treatment plant.
The spillage occurred on the afternoon of June 14 after a Netherlands-flagged dredger hit a stationary bunker vessel, causing oil from the latter’s damaged cargo tank to spill into the water.
That evening, containment booms were deployed by T&T Salvage Asia to block off the entrances at the lagoons of Sentosa’s beaches.
Those red-coloured rigid booms which were first set up are easier and faster to deploy, the firm’s managing director Captain Anuj Sahai explained on Friday (Jun 21). However, they are not as strong and effective as the more heavy-duty booms which have since been in place.
The source observed a team from T&T Salvage Asia at work on Friday, laying a 200m-long black-coloured containment boom along the external coastline of Siloso Beach.
“It was bad weather, very strong thundery showers early in the morning. So one or two booms snapped, but it was immediately taken care of,” Capt Anuj said, noting that the larger boom was being deployed only as a precaution.
Some extent of damage such as wear-and-tear is natural and already factored in as considerations when deploying booms, he explained.
The new boom is made up of 3m-long segments that have to be completely inflated with air so it can float on the water. It is heavy and requires more manpower and coordination to deploy, said Capt Anuj.
“These are bigger booms. They are much more sturdy and stronger. They will last much longer. But it also takes a little bit more time to deploy as well,” he added.
Each 3m segment weighs about 100 kg when completely inflated. It is launched off a boat and towed into position by a smaller raft that can move faster and get closer to the shore.
T&T Salvage Asia has deployed about 85 people for its clean-up operation. About 20 of them were brought in from abroad “because this was a massive spill and there were so many locations to look at”, said Capt Anuj.
The crew members are from Singapore, the Philippines, India, Ecuador and Argentina, he said. Three teams work around the clock.
“Everybody has about 10 to 15 years of solid experience. They know exactly what needs to be done. They don’t need to be taught,” said Capt Anuj, who has been in the oil spill response sector for about 20 years.
He added that physical fitness is a crucial aspect of the job, and that the risk of injury is very real.
In Singapore where the current and tides are strong, it can be difficult to maintain the boat’s position during deployment operations, he noted.
Capt Anuj’s firm is in charge of the stretch between Labrador Park and Sentosa Cove, along with islands further south like St John’s Island. It has laid out about 2.5km of booms so far.
“The effect of wind and weather is quite strong over here, especially when you’re close to Sentosa. So we have to take a lot of precautions for that,” he said.
There are different considerations for each location. At Sentosa, for instance, the venue of the Wings of Time show was a factor.
“It has a lot of protruding structures (and) steel structures, so they might puncture these kinds of booms. So then we immediately have to go and then supplement with reinforcements,” explained Capt Anuj.
