Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Transport in relation to the illegal practice of “bilge dumping” by tankers, which is the dumping of oily wastewater from the engine room of ships (a) what is the Government’s assessment of the impact this has on Singapore; (b) what means are currently used to track the extent of bilge dumping in Singapore waters; and (c) whether Singapore works with authorities in neighbouring countries to track ships carrying out this practice and take enforcement action against them.
The Senior Minister of State for Transport (Mr Chee Hong Tat) (for the Minister for Transport): Madam, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) inspects ships regularly to ensure their compliance with international regulations, including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.
MPA has not detected incidents involving ships deliberately and illegally discharging oil from their engine room in the last five years.
Mdm Deputy Speaker: Ms He.
Ms He Ting Ru (Sengkang): Just a quick follow-up because I understand that there have been reports of this being done in international or maybe Indonesian waters around Singapore. So, I am just wondering whether there are any initiatives or joint actions being taken with our surrounding neighbours to make sure that this is not affecting – because of the transnational nature of these actions, to explain to us whether or not we are doing anything with our neighbours in order to tackle this issue.
Mr Chee Hong Tat: Madam, in the event that MPA detects pollution that might have originated from beyond Singapore’s port waters, MPA would share information with the relevant authorities in the region for their investigation and enforcement. MPA also has implemented measures to monitor and ensure that ships in our waters are not illegally discharging oily wastewater into Singapore port waters.
Ministry of Transport
9 May 2023
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=oral-answer-3228
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 