Tanker and bulk carrier collide off Changi East

May 26, 2010

SINGAPORE: A Malaysian-registered tanker, MT Bunga Kelana 3, and a St Vincents and The Grenadines-registered bulk carrier, MV Waily, have collided in the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Singapore Strait.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was alerted to the incident which occurred some 13 kilometres southeast of Changi East, around 6:10am Tuesday.

There were no injuries reported, however, MT Bunga Kelana 3 suffered damage to one of its cargo tanks, resulting in an oil spill of an estimated 2,000 tonnes of crude oil.

The MPA has dispatched four patrol and emergency response craft to the affected area and also activated oil spill response companies which have deployed three craft equipped with oil spill equipment.

Work is ongoing to contain and clean up the oil spill.

Both vessels are currently anchored in the Singapore Strait.

Presently, the MT Bunga Kelana 3 is about 7km south of Changi East while the MV Waily is about 11km southeast of Changi East.

MPA’s Port Operations Control Centre has issued navigational broadcasts to ships to keep clear of the anchored vessels and traffic in the remains unaffected.

Channel NewsAsia 25 May 10

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