An oil spill in Singapore has left the country’s most popular beaches completely blackened.
The oil spill came after Netherlands-flagged dredger boat Vox Maxima struck Singaporean fuel supply ship Marine Honor on Friay.
The Dutch ship lost power and steering control before colliding with the other boat, rupturing one of its cargo tanks.
The low-sulphur oil then leaked into the sea.
Singaporean authorities say the spill has been contained, but they couldn’t stop all of the spillage from making its way to the beaches.
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One area affected was the resort island of Sentosa and more than 250 workers have bee deployed to try and clean up the spillage.
They have set up a mile of containment booms to gather the oil, while floating containment devices are also being used to collect the spillage into storage tanks.
Oil-absorbing balloons are another piece of equipment being used.
Part of the beach and a public park as well as beaches on three other islands have closed to allow workers to carry out the clean up.
Sentosa beach is open to the public but are not allowed to swim in the water or take part in sea activities.
Members of the public have joined the efforts and are patrolling the park to look for early signs of oil slicks.
Heng Kiah Chun, regional campaign strategist for Greenpeace, said the incident was a “wake-up call.”
He added: “The oil spill is a growing environmental catastrophe that is impacting some of the region’s most important and biodiverse marine protected areas and fisheries areas.”