Oil Spill Pollutes Waters of Penang and Investigations Underway
On May 27, an oil spill from unknown source has polluted nearly a 5 km coastline, stretching from Swettenham Pier to Gurney Drive, in waters off Penang. The report speculates that the unknown source should have spilled oil near the Prai Bulk Terminal.
The oil slick reportedly spread to the Esplanade and Gurney Drive forming strips of black oil at the shorelines.
Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) chief operating officer V. Sasedharan said the clean-up operation that involved the PPSB, the Marine Department, the Department of Environment (DOE) and private oil companies was completed at 2.55 p.m. on May 29. Now reports say that Penang island’s north-eastern coastline with The Esplanade’s field and Fort Cornwallis in the foreground is looking better after the clean-up.
DOE officer Nor Juliana Jaafar denied that the source of the spill had been identified as investigations were still on-going.
“I am not aware of the information and our reports on the incident are directly handed over to the director-general. However, we can confirm that it was fuel oil,” she said.
Source: The Star Online
