Barge grounded off Tanjong Beach in Sentosa towed away safely: MPA
A portion of the floating security barriers off Sentosa has been damaged, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in an update at around 12.35pm.
The Police Coast Guard will assess the damage and do repair work, and it has stepped up patrols in the vicinity.
In an earlier statement, MPA said there were no reports of injuries or pollution and that the barge, Marco Polo 802, remained stable.
'There is no impact to navigational safety,' said MPA, adding that the beach remains open to the public.
A post about the incident on the Sentosa Facebook page said there was no oil spillage.
Ms Kong Pei Ling, a kayak guide at eco-tour agency Kayakasia, said she saw the barge when she reached the beach at about 7.15am.
The barge was blocking the lagoon and had destroyed floating sea barriers, she added.
'We were getting ready to start our kayak trip around the coast of Sentosa but we couldn't launch because of the barge, so we left for Palawan Beach instead,' said Ms Kong.
A beachgoer who wanted to be known only as Melvin said: 'I thought that it was strange because this is not a place to unload containers.'
The 42-year-old, who was visiting the beach with his family, later realised that the barge was probably stuck.
According to the website of shipping company Maersk, Marco Polo 802 is an Indonesia-flagged vessel that was scheduled to reach a terminal in Singapore at 10am.
When The Straits Times arrived at the scene at about 10.30am, three vessels and a tugboat were seen pulling the barge away from the coast.
As at 11.30am, the barge was about 500m from the coastline but a tugboat appears to be entangled with the floating security barriers. At about 2pm, the tugboat, which is at about 100m from shore, is still stationary. Divers are seen collecting buoys which were a part of the barrier, and transporting them onboard vessels.
MPA is investigating the incident.
This is the latest maritime incident around Sentosa in recent months, following multiple oil spills.
On Feb 5, members of the public said they saw patches of oil off Sentosa waters following a diesel oil leak from the Police Coast Guard Brani Regional Base in southern Singapore.
Sentosa Development Corporation had said there were no oil sightings at the beaches, and deployed oil absorbent and deflective booms around Tanjong, Palawan and Siloso beaches to safeguard the shores and marine environment.
In June 2024, three beaches - Palawan Beach, Tanjong Beach and Siloso Beach - were closed for about three months after a boat hit a vessel at Pasir Panjang Terminal, resulting in the worst oil spill in Singapore in a decade.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction
Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
A Gaza-bound ship that left Cyprus with 1,200 tons of food aid nears Israeli port
Cyprus Gaza Humanitarian Aid LIMASSOL, Cyprus (AP) — A ship that set off from Cyprus loaded with 1,200 tons of food supplies for the Gaza Strip is approaching the Israeli port of Ashdod on Tuesday in a renewed effort to alleviate the worsening crisis in the Palestinian territory, where food security experts say the 'worst-case scenario of famine' is unfolding. The Panamanian-flagged vessel is loaded with 52 containers carrying food aid such as pasta, rice, baby food and canned goods. Israeli customs officials had screened the aid at the Cypriot port of Limassol, from where the ship departed on Monday. Some 700 tons of the aid is from Cyprus, purchased with money donated by the United Arab Emirates to the so-called Amalthea Fund, set up last year for donors to help with seaborne aid. The rest comes from Italy, the Maltese government, a Catholic religious order in Malta and the Kuwaiti nongovernmental organization Al Salam Association. 'The situation is beyond dire,' Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos told The Associated Press. Cyprus was the staging area last year for 22,000 tons of aid deliveries by ship directly to Gaza through a pier operated by the international charity World Central Kitchen and a U.S. military-run docking facility known as the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore system. By late July 2024, aid groups pulled out of the project, ending a mission plagued by repeated weather and security problems that limited how much food and other emergency supplies could get to those in need. Cypriot Foreign Ministry said Tuesday's mission is led by the United Nations but is a coordinated effort — once offloaded at Ashdod, U.N. employees would arrange for the aid to be trucked to storage areas and food stations operated by the World Central Kitchen. The charity, which was behind the first aid shipment to Gaza from Cyprus last year aboard a tug-towed barge, is widely trusted in the battered territory. 'The contribution of everyone involved is crucial and their commitment incredible,' Kombos said. Shipborne deliveries can bring much larger quantities of aid than the air drops that several nations have recently made in Gaza. United Nations Office for Operations Chief Jorge Moreira da Silva called Tuesday's shipment a 'crucial step in alleviating suffering in Gaza.' 'We need rapid, unhindered and safe flow of humanitarian aid for all civilians in need,' he posted on X. The latest shipment comes a day after Hamas said it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire. Israel has not approved the latest proposal so far. Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks stalled last month, raising the possibility of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed reports of starvation in Gaza as 'lies' promoted by Hamas. But the U.N. last week warned that starvation and malnutrition in the Palestinian territory are at their highest levels since the war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which the militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians. Gaza's Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, said the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war has passed 62,000. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties. Solve the daily Crossword
New York Times
9 hours ago
- New York Times
The Rainforests Being Cleared to Build Your R.V.
Word spread fast that heavy machinery had arrived in the ancient rainforest near the Indonesian village of Sungai Mata-Mata, an expanse on the western edge of the island of Borneo that is home to orangutans, clouded leopards and sun bears. Flouting the law, the excavators began digging trenches to drain the area's protected wetlands. Then came the logging crews, which cut down woodlands the size of more than 2,800 football fields, in just a few days. It was an apocalyptic sight, said Samsidar, a regional forestry official who goes by one name, recalling the devastation he encountered two years ago. 'The trees had turned into piles of wood.' Not just any kind of wood, though. The trees were meranti, a species found mostly in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, and their tropical hardwood is of particular interest to one industry in the United States: manufacturers of motor homes. July 2022 September 2024 Land government granted access to Mayawana Cleared in 2023 No deforestation visible Size of 300 soccer fields Cleared in 2024 Deforestation begins with clearing strips of land INDONESIA 1.5 miles July 2022 Land government granted access to Mayawana No deforestation visible Size of 300 soccer fields INDONESIA September 2024 Cleared in 2023 Cleared in 2024 Deforestation begins with clearing strips of land 1.5 miles July 2022 September 2024 Land government granted access to Mayawana No deforestation visible Cleared in 2023 Size of 300 soccer fields Cleared in 2024 Deforestation begins with clearing strips of land INDONESIA 1.5 miles July 2022 September 2024 Land government granted access to Mayawana Cleared in 2023 No deforestation visible Size of 300 soccer fields Cleared in 2024 Deforestation begins with clearing strips of land INDONESIA 1.5 miles Sources: Satellite image by Planet Labs; Mighty Earth By Pablo Robles Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
UPI
18 hours ago
- UPI
Explosion reported on bulk carrier near Key Bridge collapse site
An explosion has been reported on a vessel in Baltimore, Md. Image courtesy of UPI Aug. 18 (UPI) -- An explosion occurred Monday evening aboard a 751-foot bulk carrier in Baltimore's Patapsco River, near where the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in March 2024. The explosion was reported to the Baltimore City Fire Department at around 6:30 p.m. EDT, the fire department said in a statement. Officials have identified the craft as the W. Sapphire, which, according to marine traffic website is a Liberia-flagged Class A bulk carrier that was to depart Baltimore, Md., shortly before 6 p.m. Its destination was Port Louis in the East African nation of Mauritius. Unverified video of the incident published online shows an explosion on the vessel ejected a large fireball into the air. Once the smoke cleared, a fire on deck could be seen. The Baltimore fire department said the vessel sustained damage "consistent with a fire and explosion." It remained afloat and was being assisted by tugboats. All 23 people onboard the vessel when the explosion occurred have been accounted for and were uninjured, officials said. "Fireboats remain on scene as the Coast Guard and other agencies begin their investigation," the Baltimore City Fire Department said. "The vessel will be moved to a designated anchorage area and held there until cleared by the Coast Guard." UPI has contacted the U.S. Coast Guard for comment. The Maryland Department of Emergency Management said in a statement online that it is "aware of the cargo ship fire" and is "monitoring." "At this time, there are no reports of injuries or property damaged beyond the ship," it said. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore similarly said his office is closely monitoring the situation. "State agencies are responding to the situation near Baltimore Harbor," he said in a statement. "My office is in touch with local and federal authorities." The incident occurred not far from where about 510 days ago the Francis Scott Key Bridge across the Patapsco River collapsed after a commercial vessel, the MV Dali, crashed into it. The Port of Baltimore is crucial to the economy of not only Baltimore and Maryland, but also the United States, with 45.9 million tons of international cargo with a value of $62.2 billion transiting through it in 2024, the second highest on record. The collapse blocked the port, resulting in its 11-week closure.
