CONTAINMENT MEASURES
Giving a timeline of events, the government agencies said on Saturday that the oil sheens were discovered by Shell at around 9.30am on Thursday, and were reported to MPA and NEA at 11.58am and 1.15pm respectively.
An MPA craft reached the site of the incident at 12.15pm to assess the situation and to provide support.
“Initial assessments on Dec 26 (Thursday) determined the scale of oil sheens to be minor, with no risk to public safety or environmentally sensitive areas, given the containment measures Shell had implemented,” the agencies said.
Shell laid containment and absorbent booms and sprayed dispersants in the channel where the cooling water is discharged.
MPA deployed three patrol craft on Friday when Shell requested support to speed up the cleaning of the oil sheens off Pulau Bukom.
There have been no sightings of oil sheens or oil patches in the waters off Sentosa, and its beaches remain open for water activities, said the agencies.
However, as a precaution, oil-absorbent booms have been laid at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park and at the beaches on Sentosa.
“NEA is investigating the incident with MPA, and actions will be taken if any wrongdoing or lapse is discovered,” said the agencies.
In a separate statement, Shell said on Saturday that it would continue to work closely with the authorities to monitor the situation.
“We continue to cooperate with the authorities on the investigations, and learn from this incident to improve our safety performance,” it said.
