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Singapore’s Sentosa beach reopens after 400-tonne oil spill, 2-month clean-up effort

Swimming and primary contact activities have not yet returned to all affected beaches, as water tests are ongoing

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Workers clean up the beach following an oil slick, at Tanjong Beach in Sentosa, Singapore on June 15. Photo: Reuters

Oil spill clean-up operations have been completed ahead of schedule, more than two months after the incident affected Sentosa and other beaches, Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu announced on Tuesday, adding that 800 cleaning personnel and 2,300 volunteers were involved.

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A total of 3,750 tonnes of debris was also removed, she said in a Facebook post.

Fu added that swimming and primary contact activities have not yet returned to all affected beaches, and that the National Environment Agency will continue to conduct water tests daily.

Latest updates on beach water quality can be found online.

“We hope that water quality will return to safe levels so that swimming and primary contact activities can resume at all beaches soon,” she said.

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The oil spill on June 14 was caused by a Netherlands-flagged dredger hitting a Singapore-flagged bunker vessel at Pasir Panjang Terminal.

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