Knowing that oil spills is something that Singapore cannot avoid, the MPA constantly revises its National Oil Spill Contingency Plan to ensure responses to oil spills are quick and effective. This is done by prioritizing the protection of shores and cleaning up of of oil in the event of a spill, identifying areas that are prone to spills, establishing a response organization, as well as providing a system of deploying and mobilizing of manpower and equipment during a spill response. Overall, the contingency plan brings together the government agencies, oil industries, spill response companies, terminal operators and vessels (Chan, 2005). These actions focus on stopping the discharge of oil, as well as containing the spill to prevent it from being washed ashore or spreading.
Comprehensive systems are also put in place to ensure that ships in the Straits of Singapore navigate safely. An example of such a system is the Traffic Separation Scheme. Much like the common roads that we see everyday, ships have their own lane in which they have to stay within when cruising. In this scheme, ships travelling in the same direction have to be in a common lane.
In addition to setting up policies, MPA also conducts a multi-agency Joint Oil Spill Exercise, known as JOSE. This is a simulation exercise of collisions that might occur in the Straits of Singapore. During the International Chemical and Oil Pollution Conference and Exhibition (ICOPCE), JOSE was conducted, during which Singapore’s readiness to tackle oil and chemical spills were put to the test. This exercise also demonstrated the co-operation and responsiveness of the agencies involved in oil spills.
