Singapore’s minister for transport says port congestion played no part in Friday’s collision between two vessels that resulted in a major oil spill.
“Some members of the public have asked if this incident was due to congestion in our port waters,” Chee Hong Tat said in a posting on Facebook.
“Investigations are still ongoing, but preliminary findings show that the allision on 14 June was caused by the dredger experiencing sudden loss of engine and steering controls.”
Chee added that it was “not due to port congestion as our port waters and anchorages are not congested”.
He said earlier reports on delays experienced by container vessels were a “separate matter that is due to the bunching of container vessels arriving at PSA”.
“It will take time for MPA [the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore] to complete the full investigations and progressively clean up the oil spill. We seek the understanding of members of the public and businesses who are affected by this incident,” he said.
Chee said that Singapore’s port authorities responded to Friday’s incident “within 11 minutes” of being alerted to the collision between the 29,900-gt trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Maxima (built 2009) and the 9,000-dwt bunker tanker Marine Honour (built 2007) at the Pasir Panjang container terminal.
“Upon being alerted of the incident at 2.22 pm, the MPA responded by 2.33 pm to ensure that there were no further leaks from the bunker vessel which still had 400 tonnes of fuel oil remaining in its tank, and sprayed dispersant to treat the oil that had already spilt instantly into the sea,” Chee said.
“This is important to prevent the oil from hardening, which would make subsequent clean-up operations at sea and on land much harder.
“The MPA’s contractor also mobilised oil booms around the damaged vessel to prevent further oil spill that may leak from the vessel.
“While the booms can help reduce the spread of the spill, they may not completely prevent the oil from spreading, as some of the oil could be carried by tidal currents and waves and go above or below the booms,” Chee added.
Separately, PSA Marine has confirmed that one of its pilots was on board the Vox Maxima at the time of the incident.
However, it said the pilot was there to provide “navigational advice” but was not steering the Dutch-flagged vessel at the time of the collision.
Dutch company Van Oord, operators of the dredger Vox Maxima, said it “regretted the allision under pilotage … in Singapore on 14 June, 2024.
“We recognise the impact of the subsequent spill of oil on the people of Singapore. Van Oord continues to cooperate with the MPA, and we are offering all support in addressing the current situation under the MPA’s response plan,” it said.
A dedicated Van Oord team has flown to Singapore and is on site to assist where possible, and to support the captain and crew of the Vox Maxima.
“As responsible operators, we are fully insured with a leading member of the International Group of Protection and Indemnity Clubs and will meet our responsibilities and obligations in relation to this incident,” Van Oord said.
“Investigations by the MPA are ongoing and the captain of the Vox Maxima and its crew are providing all assistance with those investigations.
“Concurrently, our P&I insurer and flag state are also investigating the cause of this incident. In respect to these investigations, we cannot comment further while these investigations are ongoing,” it added.
