The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) conducted a joint oil spill exercise at Raffles Anchorage to test inter-agency coordination and response to oil spill incidents in the Port of Singapore.
The exercise was supported by ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Oil Spill Response Ltd and Singapore Salvage Engineers Pte Ltd.
The scenario included a collision between two oil tankers that resulted in the rupture of two cargo oil tanks onboard the tankers. In the scenario, about 10,000 metric tonnes of medium crude oil spilled into the sea.
The Authority used its next-generation patrol craft demonstrated their emergency response capabilities through the use of oil containment booms and the oil dispersant spray system.
In the meantime, the spill response teams also deployed a drone from the next-generation patrol craft to gather aerial footage as part of onsite incident management.
Referring to the exercise, Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented that
Our port and shipping sectors play a critical role in keeping global supply chains going, and enabling Singapore to bring in essential goods and send our exports to the world.