Cleanup under way after oil slicks hit Sentosa, East Coast Park and other areas

Oil slicks stained the coastlines at East Coast Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, Keppel Bay, the Southern Islands and Sentosa on June 15, a day after a damaged cargo tank leaked oil into the sea at Pasir Panjang Terminal.

- Sarah Koh and Syarafana Shafeeq

Videos sent to The Sunday Times on June 15 by readers showed thick, black oil in the waters off Tanjong Beach and East Coast Park, discolouring the sand at the shoreline.

In a statement on June 15, the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said it was first alerted to the presence of oil in the waters near Palawan Beach at about 9pm on June 14.

The statement said: "Upon detailed assessment this morning at around 7am, the spread has now been observed in waters throughout our beaches at Palawan, Siloso, Tanjong, as well as Sentosa Cove.

Residents volunteer as oil spill cleanup begins

"We have since stopped all beach activities in and along the waters of our beaches, and have commenced a cleanup immediately."

It added that the priority is to minimise impact on the waters and surrounding wildlife. Sentosa Cove residents have volunteered to help with cleanup efforts.

"During this period, guests can continue to use our beaches, but swimming and sea activities on the beaches will not be allowed," said the statement. "We will provide subsequent updates on the Sentosa website in due course." Sentosa Cove resident Chris Wright, 52, said he awoke to a "strong smell of oil" on June 15.

He said: "We got up and looked over our balcony, and saw a long slick of oil visible from the coast of Sentosa, all the way to Lazarus and St John's Island.

"There's a lot of wildlife around here, such as monitor lizards, and there were some photos circulating in resident WhatsApp groups of them covered in oil." WhatsApp groups are also being formed to round up volunteers to help with the cleanup, said Mr Wright, a writer and consultant.

A message circulating in a Sentosa resident WhatsApp group seen by The Sunday Times said volunteers are being recruited to help fill bags with sand stained by oil, and that "any help is welcome".