Oil Spill Forces Maersk Line to Change Ports
A 60 metric ton oil spill at Tanjung Bin on August 24 is badly affecting operations at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) to the point where Maersk Line has sent a note to clients today saying it will have to divert a number of ships from PTP to neighbouring Singapore.
The accident happened nine days ago while the tanker Trident Star was taking on bunker fuel at a terminal controlled by VTTI, the storage division of the world’s largest oil trader Vitol. At the time spokespeople at PTP played down the impact of the spill, telling Splashoperations were carrying on as normal. This is patently not the case however.
“As part of the ongoing contingency plan, we will be diverting a number of vessels from Tanjung Pelepas to Singapore,” Maersk Line said in a note to clients today. Initially, five ships will be diverted.
In addition to this, Maersk Line is in the process of moving Australian import shipments which were awaiting onwards connections in Tanjung Pelepas, to Singapore.
Source: Splash 247
