The sky fell on us today, pouring rain drenched all the divers even before we could get on to the boat. (Above: Divers get ready for a dive at Hantu despite the rain)

We decided to take a bet and loaded the stuff as usual, onto the boat. Just as we were departing from the marina, the rain stopped, with slight overcast. Water was clam and I checked with Mr. Yeo and he said well not much current today, lets go to the south jetty. (Above: Whip coral)

We arrived at about 1030 at the south jetty, a quick briefing and everyone was off diving! (Above: Bubble coral)

The visibility wasn’t too bad, about 1-1.5m but the water was eerily green. Maybe because it was still in the 7th lunar month! (Above: Icon seastar)

The corals are recovering well from the bleaching, and many new corals was popping up all over the place. (Above: Filefish)

The first creature we saw was a green snake eel, which curiously sticks it head out for us to take some photos.

We also saw crabs and butterfly fishes and a school of silver moonfish (above) swimming at under the jetty.

After lunch the sky cleared up and we had nice sun and a great 2nd dive Blog volunteer Cindy Tan managed to bump into the resident turtle who almost scared her out of her skin! We’re still waiting for her to upload her pictures from the dive so we can share them with you! (Above: Merulina coral)

Seeing the corals recovering was the biggest attraction for today. (Above: Serpent coral)

Photo: wildshores.blogspot.com

Ria Tan and Loh Kok Sheng visited Pulau Hantu early on Sunday to check out the island’s intertidal reef is responding to the widespread coral bleaching in the region, that’s been observed since May 2010.

Ria wrote in her post that it was, “disconcerting to see for the first time, bleaching in some kinds of animals that we have not seen before.”

Photo: wildshores.blogspot.com

Both bloggers reported bleaching amongst zoanthids for the first time.

Photo: Loh Kok Sheng

Kok Sheng raised some interesting questions when he came across the path of bleached leathery corals (above). He writes,

This is puzzling, why would corals at the edge respond worse than those in the lagoon? Shouldn’t they be in the deeper waters and thus more shading from the sun? Or is it because those in the lagoon are already very tough in nature since these corals have to endure more physical stress in normal times?

Photo: wildshores.blogspot.com

Ria came across the bleached flowery soft coral (above). She blogs, “I noticed the tiny little filefish that was hiding among the ‘branches’. Bleaching probably makes such animals more visible to predators.”

Photo: Loh Kok Sheng

Though the situation looks dismal, Kok Sheng reports, “Interestingly, many colonies of the Lettuce coral (Pavona sp.) seem to show up as one of the toughest species, a phenomenon that is similar to that of Tanah Merah’s reef.”

Apart from documenting the impact of coral bleaching, Ria and Kok Sheng also came across some usual and not-so-usual lifeforms on Hantu’s reefs!

Photo: Loh Kok Sheng

The Orange-edged black flatworm (Pseudobiceros uniarborensis) is commonly spotted by divers at Hantu.

Photo: Loh Kok Sheng

This Arabian cowrie (Cypraea arabica) however, is a rare encounter in our Southern Shores. Great to know that it can be spotted at Hantu!

Photo: Loh Kok Sheng

Another rare find was this Feathery filefish (Chaetodermis penicilligerus) which Kok Sheng reported to be a rather large specimen!

Thanks to Ria Tan and Koh Kok Sheng for working so hard (read: waking up in the wee hours and having the energy to post these blogs within such a short time and probably on a red-eye!) More about bleaching on Bleach Watch Singapore

It was heartbreaking to be away from the oil spill affected areas the last three days.

But we were committed well before the spill to trips to our Deep South. Alas, another tragedy seems to be unfolding there.

Our Southern shores include many submerged reefs. We visited three southern reefs over the last three days and observed coral bleaching on all of them. In some parts of these reefs, only one or two colonies were bleached, while the others seemed fine.

Read the rest of this post

Summarising recent local media reports (with my snarky comments in brackets, I blame sleep deprivation): Out at sea, efforts were ramped up to clean up the initial 4 sq km area of oil slick from spreading inland. As part of the containment efforts, some 19 craft and 120 personnel used bio-degradable dispersants to break up the oil slick into smaller globules and some 3,300 metres of containment booms used to contain the spill.

Satellite image taken from above Changi Naval Base (rectangular shaped structure) by CRISP. The bright dots are ships and the oil slick is the patches of black around the coast. — PHOTO: NUS

Unpredictable wind and tide conditions had made containment difficult, even though the weather was fine, said MPA. (I thought tides and currents are quite predictable?).

By 26 May evening, the oil slick had spread, first making landfall between Changi Naval Base and Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, then spreading to a 7.2 km stretch of the East Coast beach from NSRCC to the Goldkist Beach Resort chalets near Marine Vista.

What is being done to clean up the beach?

Some 80 cleaners, armed with spades to scoop up contaminated sand, and 36 officers from NEA were involved in a massive clean-up effort along the affected beaches. Efforts will resume this morning (27 May).

“Our NEA officers are working now at the beach areas to clean up the contaminated sand. Those sand that have been contaminated by the oil sludge, we actually clear up the sand, then dispose of the sand.”

NEA has closed the affected beaches and put up signs advising the public not to swim.

What about the smell?
NEA again said no traces of toxic substances were found in air samples taken yesterday. The foul odour smelled in some places on Tuesday might have been from the volatile parts of the oil sludge evaporating more quickly than the heavier parts.

Mr S. Satish Appoo, NEA’s director of environmental health, added that those affected were probably more sensitive to strong smells. “Durian could have the same effect on some people,” he quipped. (I fail to find this remark amusing, I could hardly breathe during the three hours on the oil-stained shores of Tanah Merah today. My eyes were tearing, and not just because I was sad).

Will the slick spread further?
Professor Pavel Tkalich, an oceanographer at the Tropical Marine Science Institute, said if the slick continues spreading, it could eventually reach the Southern Islands and even Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong over the next few days.

‘The slick will move back and forth and can gradually spread beyond to the southern islands in the next four days.’

He added that environmental damage to corals and mangroves in these parts would be unavoidable, but unlikely to be significant.

How long will this situation last?
There is no indication how long the slick will last. The MPA said the weather, tide and wind conditions will play an important role in the containment of the oil slick.

In his email today (May 27), the STOMPer said:

“I was running at East Coast Park earlier today when I saw 2 cleaners doing damage control to clear the oil slick on the beach, outside the East Coast Park Sports Planet.

“The smell of the oil filled the air.

“Hopefully the smell will go off soon, best by this Saturday evening, because the route for the Adidas Sundown Ultra Marathon includes Changi and Fort Roads.”

Upon notification of the incident, MPA had immediately dispatched four patrol and emergency response craft to the affected area. MPA also activated oil spill response companies to deploy their craft.

Revised estimates from AET, the operator of MT Bunga Kelana 3, indicate that some 2,500 tonnes of crude oil could have spilled into the sea. A helicopter recce by the Republic of Singapore Air Force at 2:20pm found an oil slick measuring 4 kilometres by 1 kilometre located about 6 kilometres south of Changi East.

As at 5.30pm, more than 85 personnel were on site as part of the containment and clean up efforts. A total of 20 craft, comprising 5 from MPA, 5 from the Malaysian authorities and 10 from oil spill response and other companies were on site.

The response craft are equipped with 41 tonnes of non-toxic and bio-degradable oil spill dispersants, 1,500 metres of containment booms and 2 skimmers with fast tanks. The dispersants help to break the oil slick into smaller globules to facilitate biodegrading by micro-organisms. The containment booms are used to contain the oil slick and to facilitate collection by skimmers and fast tanks.

Beyond the efforts at sea, MPA has worked with AET to have on standby, 200 personnel to clean up our coastlines should the need arise.

In addition, MPA is working with relevant agencies such as the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore, National Environment Agency, National Parks Board, Police Coast Guard and Republic of Singapore Navy. MPA has also alerted marinas, sea sports centres, ferry terminals and other waterfront facilities to be prepared for possible impact arising from the oil spill.

MPA has notified and is working with the Indonesian and Malaysian authorities in line with the Standard Operating Procedure for Joint Oil Spill Combat in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOP). The SOP is part of the trilateral arrangement among the three littoral states of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore known as the Revolving Fund Committee (RFC). The RFC meets annually to discuss issues relating to oil spills and to update the SOP.

Efforts to contain and clean up the oil spill are ongoing. The oil spill and the containment and clean up efforts have not affected traffic in the Traffic Separation Scheme of the Singapore Strait.

Further details will be released when available.

ISSUED BY THE MARITIME AND PORT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE (MPA)

For clarifications, please contact:
Ms Serene Tan
MPA media hotline: (65) 8366-2294
Email: Serene_Tan@mpa.gov.sg

The MT Bunga Kelana 3 tanker collided with the MV Waily bulk carrier at about 6.10am in the Singapore Strait, 13km south-east of Changi East, the statement said.

‘There were no report of injury to crew members. However, MT Bunga Kelana 3 suffered damage to one of its cargo tanks, resulting in an oil spill. The Master of MT Bunga Kelana 3 estimated that 2,000 tonnes of crude oil could have spilled into the sea,’ the statement said.

It added that the MPA ‘immediately dispatched four patrol and emergency response craft to the affected area. MPA also activated oil spill response companies which have deployed three craft equipped with oil spill equipment’.

‘Both vessels are currently anchored in the Singapore Strait,’ the statement said. ‘Work is ongoing to contain and clean up the oil spill.’

The statement also said that traffic in the Singapore Strait remains unaffected. The Malaysian and Indonesian authorities were also informed of the incident.

Straits Times 25 May 10

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

SINGAPORE – Crude oil was spilled off Singapore’s Changi coast after a Malaysian registered tanker collided with a bulk carrier on Tuesday morning, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said.

The MPA said in a press release on Tuesday that the incident happened about 13 kilometres southeast of Changi East.

It said it received a report at about 6.10am that the MT Bunga Kelana 3 and a St Vincents and The Grenadines-registered carrier collided in the Singapore Straits. Both vessels are currently anchored there.

It also said that there was no report of injury to crew members. However, one of the cargo tanks on the tanker was damaged, resulting in 2,000 tonnes of oil spilled.

MPA added work is ongoing to contain and clean up the spill.

The tanker is owned by MISC subsidiary American Eagles.

Bernice Bong, Business Times Singapore 25 May 10

1. At about 6:10am on 25 May 2010, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) received a report that a Malaysian-registered tanker, MT Bunga Kelana 3 and a St Vincents and The Grenadines-registered bulk carrier, MV Waily had collided in the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Singapore Strait. The incident location is about 13 kilometres southeast of Changi East.

2. Both vessels are currently anchored in the Singapore Strait. MV Waily is currently about 11 kilometres southeast of Changi East and MT Bunga Kelana 3 is about 7 kilometres south of Changi East.

3. MPA’s Port Operations Control Centre has issued navigational broadcasts to ships transiting the TSS to keep clear of the anchored vessels. Traffic in the TSS remains unaffected.

4. There was no report of injury to crew members. However, MT Bunga Kelana 3 suffered damage to one of its cargo tanks, resulting in an oil spill. The Master of MT Bunga Kelana 3 estimated that 2,000 tonnes of crude oil could have spilled into the sea.

5. Upon notification, MPA immediately dispatched four patrol and emergency response craft to the affected area. MPA 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.

6. MPA has also informed the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities of the incident.

7. Further details will be issued when available.

ISSUED BY THE MARITIME AND PORT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE (MPA)

For clarifications, please contact:

Ms Serene Tan
MPA media hotline: (65) 8366-2294
Email: Serene_Tan@mpa.gov.sg

They said the collision between the two ships –identified as tanker Bunga Kelana 3, and the MT Waily — led to an oilspill.

“The collision caused a 10-metre (yard) tear in the left side of the tanker and 2,000 metric tonnes of crude oil has spilled into the sea where the collision occured,” Commander Abdul Hadib bin Abdul Wahab told Reuters.

Malaysia’s largest shipping company MISC a unit of state-run oil company Petronas, lists the Bunga Kelana 3 as an Aframax class tanker built in 1998 with a dead-weight-tonnage of 105,784 on its website (http://www.misc.com.my).

The tanker is owned by MISC subsidiary American Eagles.

Reporting by Razak Ahmad; Editing by Jerry Norton
Forexyard 25 May 10

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – The tanker Bunga Kelana 3 was carrying light crude oil and condensate when it was involved in a collision with a bulk carrier in waters between Malaysia and Singapore waters early on Tuesday, a spokesman for vessel owner AET said.

“The Bunga Kelana 3 is a vessel owned and managed by AET. At the moment she is now safely at anchor off Changi,” Paul Lovell, head of corporate communication atf AET, told Reuters. Changi is located in the east of Singapore.

“She was carrying two types of cargo, some condensate and some very light crude, it was about 40 percent condensate and about 60 percent light crude on the vessel at the time of the incident. It looks though the spill would have been from the very light crude, the exact amount I can’t tell you,” he said.

The spokesman could not say who owns the oil.

AET Tanker Holdings Sdn Bhd operates is a wholly owned subsidiary of international transport and energy company MISC Bhd, a unit of national oil firm Petronas.

Reuters 25 May 10; Reporting by Soo Ai Peng, Writing by Ramthan Hussain; editing by Michael Urquhart

May 25 (Bloomberg) — A tanker collided with a bulk carrier off Singapore’s southeastern coast, spilling 2,000 metric tons of crude oil near the world’s busiest port.

The MT Bunga Kelana 3 tanker collided with the MV Waily at about 6:10 a.m. local time in the Singapore Strait, 13 kilometers (8 miles) southeast of Changi East, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in a statement. About 140,000 vessels call at Singapore each year, it said on its website. The city-state is also Asia’s biggest center for oil storage and bunkering.

“If you have an oil spill in a harbor, a populated area, it’s going to cause some concern,” said Stuart Traver, a downstream adviser at energy consultants Gaffney, Cline & Associates Ltd. in Singapore. “Two thousand tons of oil is not small — most environmental organizations get upset about even smaller slicks.”

The spill is equivalent to 14,660 barrels or 616,000 U.S. gallons, almost enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. BP Plc estimated a damaged Gulf of Mexico oil well has been leaking 5,000 barrels a day since an April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers. Independent scientists have told the U.S. Congress crude oil was coming out at more than 10 times the estimate.

Vessels Anchored

The two ships remain anchored in the Singapore Strait, the Maritime and Port Authority statement said. “Work is ongoing to contain and clean up the oil spill.”

AET Tanker Holdings Sdn., the owner of the Bunga Kelana 3 and a unit of Malaysia’s MISC Bhd., is working to “minimize the damage from the oil that’s leaked,” said Paul Lovell, a spokesman for AET Tanker.

“A number of oil-retaining booms have been deployed,” Lovell said by telephone. “These were done by specialist companies retained by the company. We’re doing all we can. There were no casualties on Bunga Kelana 3. We had 27 crew on the vessel.”

The Malaysia-flagged Bunga Kelana 3, classed as a Long Range 2 tanker, was built in 1998 with 12 cargo tanks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It has a double hull, a design meant to prevent oil leaks or flooding beyond the outer compartment.

The vessel is sitting in 11.4 meters of water, compared with its draft of 14.9 meters, based on transmissions captured by AISLive on Bloomberg. This indicates it’s fully laden.

“At this stage, the impact could be relatively mild,” Traver said. “It’s not the same of course as a spewing oil well which won’t stop — presumably this is it, this is over.”

Treasure Marine Ltd. is the beneficial owner of the Waily, Bloomberg data showed. The 25,449-deadweight ton vessel, flying a St. Vincent & The Grenadines flag, was built in 1983.

By Yee Kai Pin and Jane Lee Boomberg Businessweek 25 May 10; Editors: Clyde Russell, Ang Bee Lin.

Join the newly set up Facebook group to share your sightings and any other related issues.

May has been an intense month for a lot of people in Asia, and for the oceans as well. But it’s also been an exciting time for biodiversity with World Biodiversity Day and the exhibition of wonderful images of wildlife in Singapore in the heart of Singapore’s shopping district.

Taking a break from the perpetual hustle that goes on in Singapore, Blog divers retreated to the depths of Pulau Hantu, and this weekend, or volunteer Cindy Tan, “breaks her jinx” as she says, when she spots her first Slender Ceratosoma nudibranch! After which, she spots another 4 more, for a total of 5 of this bizarre and beautiful marine slugs!

While sticking her nose about the reef, she managed to find a bunch of egg capsules belonging to a Spiral melongena snail.

She also encountered a little cuttlefish on the reef. Check out how its colouration matches the portion of the reef it is hovering over, almost perfectly!

Then there was a not-so-little cuttlefish. From this angle, you can clearly see the unique W-shaped pupils that cuttlefish have.

When I first saw this photo, it seems as if a single looong nudibranch has coiled itself around this bit of coral. Of course, anyone who’s seen this nudi before knows that they don’t get THIS long. At least, that’s as far as it has been recorded! So what appears to be one, is in fact two sea slugs, chasing each others tails around a coral branch.

View more pictures at the Hantu Blog Gallery.

This marine handbook is a testament to to Sungai Pulai’s intriguing biodiversity, and the Hantu Blog is proud to have been able to contribute photos of marine life from Singapore for this effort!

The book is authored by Choo Chee Kuang, Serina Rahman, and Khor Hui Min.

I was told by a former resident of Hantu Island, that it got its name, which translates as “Ghost Island” in Malay, from of the calls of fishing owls that used to reside in the island’s mangrove trees several decades ago, before the island was manicured to its present state. The Malay name for owls being Burung hantu, meaning “Ghost bird”.

We didn’t see any owls on the island last Sunday, but Volunteer reef guide Jimmy Goh, took a stroll on the island and took a few shots of the above birds.

Left: Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos; Kedidi Pasir (Malay)
Common Sandpipers are abundant but typically feed alone or in pairs, avoiding areas where other more gregarious species feed.

Breeding (April-July): Common Sandpipers breed in northern Eurasia from the Atlantic across the continent to Central Japan. They usually arrive at their breeding grounds in pairs. They prefer to nest near water, but sometimes in trees or shrubs. The male does most of the incubation and rearing.

Migration: Common Sandpipers migrate in small groups (rarely more than 200) or alone. They migrate well north, across much of the Old World including Australia, although few reach New Zealand. They are likely to be among the most numerous visiting waders in Singapore.

Right: Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica; Layang Layang Pasifik (Malay)
Pacific Swallows eat insects, catching them during flight. Unlike Swifts that simply trawl the air with their mouths open, Swallows don’t hunt on the wing. They perch and wait, then actually chase after individual prey and perform aerial acrobatics to catch them. Swallows also hunt at lower levels than Swifts.
Pacific Swallows are found everywhere, but usually near water and open country. In Singapore, they are particularly common along the coasts, and also found in mangroves.

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