The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Marine Department of Malaysia (MDM) have conducted a joint chemical spill exercise to test its joint Emergency Response Plan (ERP) for chemical spill incidents.
Jointly developed by MPA, MDM, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Johor Department of Environment (DOE), the ERP seeks to tackle potential chemical accidents involving the seaborne transportation of hazardous chemicals along the Straits of Johor. It’s part of the bilateral cooperation programme under the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment (MSJCE).
Ronnie Tay, chief executive officer, NEA, said, “Spills can have far-reaching consequences on the environment and forums such as the MSJCE allow us to hone our bilateral response to protect our shared environment from pollution. We are heartened by the outcome of the exercise, which clearly demonstrates the operational readiness of both countries to control and mitigate chemical spill incidents in the Straits of Johor.”
The exercise simulated a collision between a chemical tanker MT MAY 2016 departing an oil terminal in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, and a cargo ship MV JUN 2016 departing an adjacent shipyard, resulting in spillage of chemical, Styrene Monomer (a spill of approximately 30 metric tonnes).
During the exercise, both MPA and MDM mirrored the role they would take in a real life incident.
As the exercise scenario originated from and occurred in Malaysian waters, MDM led the response efforts with MPA supporting the Malaysian authorities for seaward response operations according to the Chemical Contingency Plan (Marine) in areas such as spillage cleanup and search-and-rescue efforts.
NEA supported the exercise by monitoring the air and water quality for signs of chemical contamination, information exchange with DOE, and stood ready to coordinate cleanup efforts along Singapore’s shorelines.
