Northern Beauty of Semakau

It was my first time checking the northern reef of Semakau. It was also the team's first time covering the whole reef of Semakau through a team effort.

Pink line marks the reef coverage the team covered on this trip.

Another team check the submerged reef next to Semakau's western reef, Terumbu Raya.

Oil spill reaches Pulau Semakau

On 29 January 2014, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) released a media statement about a collision between the departing Hong Kong-flagged chemical tanker, "Lime Galaxy" and the arriving China-flagged containership, "Feihe" in the evening at about 2.7 km, south of Jurong Island.

The media statement reported that "Feihe" sustained damages on her bunker tanks, resulting in some spillage of bunker fuel. Oil spill response companies were activated to support in the clean up efforts.

It is not revealed the exact location of the collision as Jurong Island is rather large but the image below shows the possible locations, mapped out by Ria Tan (wildsingapore).

Possible locations of the collision, mapped by Ria Tan.

The following day, 30 January 2014, MPA released another update about the collision: Collision between Lime Galaxy and Feihe - update 1

Kusu Reef: A reef with the lion city view under lots of stress

The reef at Kusu Island is rather unique. It is one reef that has a special view - The cityscape of Singapore. This view can be reach with a 15 mintues ferry ride from Marina South Pier.

Kusu reef with Singapore's cityscape in the distance.

Kusu Island is managed by Sentosa. All visitors are required to pay an entrance fee of SG$0.50 upon arrival at the island. On this island, there is a chinese temple and three Kramats. You can read more about Kusu Island here.

Kusu Island Oiled

On the eve of lunar new year, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) release a media statement regarding 'Contact between vessels NYK Themis and AZ Fuzhou' - MPA News centre, 30 January 2014.

A collision between the vessels happened at East Keppel Fairway at about 4 km south of Marina South. "NYK Themis" is a Panama-flagged containership while "AZ Fuzhou" is a barge being towed by "AZ Carnation". Here's a estimated location mapped out by Ria Tan (wildsingapore) to show collision spot.

Estimated collision site

The collision caused damages on the bunker tank of "NYK Themis", resulting in some spillage of bunker fuel. MPA's statement stated that "Oil spill response companies were also activiated to support the clean up efforts."

My love for TMSI-SJI

The Tropical Marine Science Institute, TMSI in short, is an institution formed with the National University of Singapore (NUS).  The institution aims to play a strong role in promoting integrated marine science, in research and development, as well as to establish itself as a regional and international education and training centre through active collaboration with academic, government and industrial sectors. Major research areas in TMSI are Marine Environmental Management; Underwater Remote Sensing and Oceanography.

TMSI homepage
www.tmsi.nus.edu.sg

There are two TMSI research facilities - one located on the main campus of NUS at Kent Ridge while second is located off mainland Singapore at St. John's Island (SJI). The institution also has research vessel, Galaxea, allowing researchers to conduct experiment in Singapore waters.

The Galaxea
[Image from TMSI's webpage, http://www.tmsi.nus.edu.sg/research-facilities-galaxea]