The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Marine Department of Malaysia (MDM) carried out a joint chemical spill exercise at sea along the East Johor Strait to test the Joint Emergency Response Plan (ERP) for Chemical Spill Incidents in the East Johor Strait.
The ERP aims for better response and mitigation of chemical accidents involving the seaborne transportation of hazardous chemicals along the East Johor Strait.
Namely, in caset of a chemical spill incident at sea, MPA will implement the Chemical Contingency Plan (Marine), which covers the roles and responsibilities of the responding agencies for the clean-up operations. MPA will also monitor and coordinate clean-up operations at sea, while the National Environment Agency (NEA) will monitor the air and water quality, and coordinate clean-up efforts at affected shore areas.
Exercise CHEMSPILL 2018 included a joint table-top exercise on 10 July 2018, followed by a ground deployment exercise which simulated a collision between a fully laden chemical tanker and a product tanker near Tajam Beacon, off Pulau Ubin. As part of the simulation, the chemical tanker suffered damages to its cargo tanks, and some 500 tonnes of Benzene were spilled into the sea, while the product tanker suffered minor damages. Two crew members of the chemical tanker were also injured. One was unconscious, while the other required immediate evacuation for medical attention.
The exercise also simulated a gasoline-like smell that was detected by residents around Kampung Pasir Putih in Johor Bahru, staff from Outward Bound School at Pulau Ubin, and fish farmers at Nenas Channel.
Andrew Tan, MPA’s Chief Executive mentioned:
As chemical or oil spills are transboundary in nature, it is important that we conduct regular bilateral exercises with our immediate neighbours to strengthen regional and multi-agency response capabilities. Today’s exercise ensures that all agencies are ready to respond swiftly and effectively in the event of a chemical spill.
