Singapore closes beaches after oil spill

Singapore closed beaches along 4.5 miles of its east coast today as an oil spill from a damaged tanker spread.

About 18,000 barrels of light crude oil spilled from the Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 after it collided with St Vincent and the Grenadines-registered bulk carrier MV Waily on Tuesday in the Singapore Strait about eight miles south east of the east coast.

Blotches of rust-coloured oil floated next to a breaker wall at a ferry terminal while the nearby National Sailing Centre, which usually gives daily classes to hundreds of school students, shut its doors.

A pungent stench has enveloped the eastern coastline - an area normally packed on weekends with families, skaters and cyclists enjoying the sand, sea and some of the island's best seafood restaurants.

"The smell was so bad yesterday, it made me nauseous," said Ho Shufen, a manager at the sailing centre. "I don't expect anyone would want to come here until the smell is gone."

The National Environment Agency said it would take the "next few days" to clean up the coastline and advised the public to stay away from affected beaches.

Officials deployed oil dispersants and 10,800 feet of containment booms in an unsuccessful bid to keep the slick from fouling the coast.

Officials at the ferry terminal said the oil spill has not affected its services.