A LIBYAN oil tanker and a bulk carrier collided off Singapore , causing a spill of 4,500 tonnes or crude oil spill, the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said, Lloyd's List reports.
The Libyan-registered 116,039-dwt tanker Alyarmouk collided with the Singapore-flagged 57,400-dwt bulk carrier Sinar Kapuas about 11 nautical miles north-east of Pedra Branca, east of Singapore.
"Alyarmouk reported that one of her cargo tanks sustained damage, resulting in some spillage of crude oil," the MPA said in a statement.
V Ships UK Ltd, which manages Alyarmouk, estimated that 4,500 tonnes (33,000 barrels) of Madura crude oil had been spilled, said Reuters.
Alyarmouk was traveling from Tanjung Pelapas, Malaysia to China, and Sinar Kapuas from Hong Kong to Singapore, when the incident occurred, the MPA said.
Two oil spill response companies have been mobilised to combat the spill, which might have also affected northern parts of the Indonesian island of Bintan, the MPA said.
The spill at the eastern end of the Strait of Singapore threatening white sand beaches and endangered sea turtles in Indonesia, according to Oregon-based Environment News Service.
The MPA is working with the Indonesian authorities in line with the standard operating procedure for joint oil spill combat teams in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
The two vessels are anchored and in stable condition, said the MPA, which has issued navigational broadcasts for ships to navigate with caution when in the vicinity of the incident site.
Six of the world's seven species of sea turtles frequent Indonesian waters; all species are classed as endangered. On the Bintan Resort beaches hawksbill turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata, and green turtles, Chelonia mydas, have been recorded, said the ENS report.