The Straits Times, 29th June 1998
By Dominic Nathan
Eight months after Singapore's worst oil spill, the long- term impact of the pollution is becoming more apparent. Dead mangroves around the southern islands and dwindling numbers of small wading birds are among he effects seen.
An assessment by the Nature Society ( Singapore) (NSS) found that whole stretches of mangrove, about 50 m wide in parts, which ring some of the southern islands, appear to be dead.
Dr Ho Hua Chew, chairman of the NSS conservation committee, said that this has affected the number of small wading birds, such as collared kingfishers and little herons.
They perch on the branches of the mangroves and feed on shore life like worms in the mud.
" We will get a better idea around October, during the migratory season, if the birds are giving the islands a miss."
He added that the concern was whether the soil in the mangrove area, which supports the bird life, may have been contaminated by the oil.
Singapore suffered its worst oil spill last Oct 15, when the Very Large Crude Carrier Orapin Global collided with the Evoikos, an oil tanker half its size, spewing 28,463 tonnes of oil into the sea around the southern islands.
The trial against the two skippers start today.
Michael Chalkitis, 58, captain of the Evoikos, faces two charges. For failing to keep a proper look-out, he can be fined up to $10,000.
The other charge, of breaching his duty as captain by not giving way to the Orapin Global, carries a maximum penalty of two years' jail and a $50,000 fine.
The Polish skipper of the Orapin Global, Jan Sokolowski, 54, was charged with navigating his ship rashly and endangering human life. If convicted, he can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $1,000.
The oil spill took 650 men and 80 boats working 16-hour days three weeks to clean up. In all, 16,500 bags of oil sludge were removed from the shores of the southern islands.
Aside from the Nature Society, a team of marine biologists from the Tropical Marine Science Initiative is studying the spill's long-term impact on marine life and corals. A team member said they could not comment at this stage as studies were ongoing.
As for bird life, when NSS members first visited the Southern Islands on Oct 26, after the spill, they found only five species of wading birds &endash; a third of the number they usually see.
Since then, four other trips have been made to the islands, and Dr Ho said that aside from the shoreline mangrove, the situation was not bleak.
"The numbers of bigger wading birds like the great bill heron and Pacific reef egret were quite healthy, with at least nine individuals spotted."
These birds feed on the fish in the sea, and are not as affected as the smaller birds which rely on the mangrove shoreline for food.
"There was even some nesting on Pulau Anak Bukom, which is a very encouraging sign," he said.