Oil on Singapore beaches after collision with Dutch ship Vox Maxima
Several beaches in Singapore were closed on Saturday due to an oil leak. The leak occurred a day earlier following a collision between the Dutch-flagged dredging vessel Vox Maxima and another ship.
#Watch | Beaches on Singapore's Sentosa Island were closed after an oil spill after a dredger hit a bunker vessel in a nearby port. All beaches in the vicinity have been shut for activities. A clean-up drive is underway.#OilSpill #Singapore #SingaporeBeaches #SentosaIsland pic.twitter.com/6jU8XqXf5R
— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) June 15, 2024
The collision happened in a port terminal on the popular tourist island of Sentosa in south Singapore. On Friday evening, the Singapore port authorities announced that “the oil tank involved had been isolated and the spill contained.”
The oil slick has now affected three beaches. Floating barriers are in place to prevent the oil from spreading further, and the clean-up work is in full swing. However, it is not clear how much oil has leaked.
Selangor Journal | Singapore oil spill closes beaches on resort island https://t.co/d8oMBkrD5A pic.twitter.com/4C3oFsxisq
— Media Selangor (@Media_Selangor) June 15, 2024
🇸🇬 Beaches on Singapore's top resort island of Sentosa, which also house luxury waterfront homes, were shuttered on Saturday due to an oil spill at the Pasir Panjang port, maritime authorities said.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 15, 2024
Read more: https://t.co/TwPtTX7Vr7 pic.twitter.com/NEOS5DQejy
The almost 200-meter-long Vox Maxima was built by Royal IHC in 2009 to extract clay, sand, and gravel from the water bed using large pumps. According to AD, the ship is usually used for dredging projects such as the construction of harbors, waterways, and artificial islands.
Reporting by ANP and NL Times