Many of us in Singapore regard oil spills as distant tragedies that we only see in newspapers and on the news, oblivious to the fact that these are actually issues close to home too.  As much as oil spills are of concern on a global level, we should also pay more attention to this issue on a localized level in Singapore. Countless of oil spill incidents have taken place in the waters of Singapore, and their impacts are nothing less than disastrous.

Through this blog, I will take you through an oil spill journey. You can expect to gain insights about how oil spills come about, the disastrous impacts they bring about in Singapore’s context as well as what has been done internally by governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations in Singapore to combat oil spill incidents. In the past, governmental institutions were solely responsible for cleaning up after the oil spills incidents. However, as time passed, it is observed that more and more NGOs are taking the initiative to play a part in this issue, lessening the burden on the part of governmental authorities, which is really commendable.

As individuals, what we can do is limited, given our inexperience and non-expertise in this area of concern. Despite that, we can still play a crucial role in tackling oil spills by contacting relevant authorities if we ever spot signs of possible oil spills so as to aid adequate and timely intervention on their side.