Shell oil spill: Bukom Islands cleanup to be completed in days, no new oil sightings reported

SINGAPORE – The cleanup of the waters, rocks and structures of Pulau Bukom and Bukom Kechil is expected to be completed in a few days, with no new oil sightings as of 3pm on 22 October .

This comes after more than 30 tonnes of “slop” – a mixture of oil and water – leaked into the sea from a Shell pipeline between the two islands on 20 October.

The cleanup involves cleaning up remaining oil trapped in containment booms in the waters between the islands and cleaning up stained rock deposits and infrastructure, according to an Oct. 22 joint statement from nine government agencies.

The agencies are the Building and Construction Authority, JTC Corporation, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, National Environment Agency, National Parks Board, National Water Agency PUB, Sentosa Development Corporation, Singapore Food Agency and Singapore Land Authority.

PUB also continues to monitor seawater intakes at its desalination plants, with seawater quality readings remaining normal. The Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant and the Jurong Island Desalination Plant are the closest to the location of the leak.

There are also no reports that fish farms have been affected by the oil leak, according to the joint statement, with agencies continuing to monitor oil sightings.

The agencies said on October 21 that they were working closely with Shell to clean up the leaked oil.

The public was also advised to avoid swimming and other high-contact water activities near the beaches of East Coast Park, Kusu Island, Sant Joan Island and Llàtzer Island, although they are not ‘have observed oil on these islands, as well as on Pulau Hantu and Seringat Island. .