Oil spill will evaporate, says official

Marine Dept to monitor sunken vessel situation off Penang coast

GEORGE TOWN: Unlike automotive fuel, the fuel of the fishing vessel that sank will evaporate.

Northern Region Marine Department director Kapt Abdul Samad Shaik Osman said there was not much oil left as it had probably evaporated.

“The vessel used marine gas oil, which is very thin and leaves a thin sheen over the water, which then usually evaporates when there is good weather.

“We are continuously monitoring the vessel,” he said, commenting on the fishing vessel Xin Yi Yi, from Hong Kong, which sank on Thursday and spilled up to six tonnes of diesel and hundreds of litres of engine oil off the Penang coast.

The vessel’s fuel and engine oil began spewing out about seven hours after it hit the remains of a shipwreck nicknamed “Kapal Simen”, 4km from Penang island’s southern coast.

Kapt Abdul Samad said the owner of the vessel sent a diver but he could not reach the fuel tank.

“We suspect that most of the oil spill has evaporated as there is no more sign of oil leaking out.

“Although we have equipment that can be used to remove the oil, there is no point in sending it out as there are only small patches of thin oil layers.

“It will evaporate in good weather,” he said.

Kapt Abdul Samad said if it had been other types of fuel, the situation would have been bad.

Penang Port Sdn Bhd’s (PPSB) acting chief executive officer V. Sasedharan said they had an emergency crew on standby after the incident occurred in case they were needed to clean up the spill.

“We stood down once we were informed by the Marine Department that the situation was under control,” he added.

Sasedharan said nature also has its way of removing the oil – it usually dissolves.

One just needs to make sure the oil does not land as then it becomes difficult to remove.

Meanwhile, locals could not contain their curiosity over the halfsubmerged Xin Yi Yi, still lying on its side yesterday.

Several boats were spotted mooring close to the ship and some men even clambered onboard.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) president S.M. Mohamed Idris in a statement urged government agencies and the state government to take immediate action to handle the oil spill.

Mohamed Idris said the state government, the state’s Department of Environment, state Marine Department, state Fisheries Department and other relevant parties in Penang and Perak should announce their investigation results regarding the incident to clear public concerns.

Kapt Abdul Samad said the owner of the vessel had been given clearance to remove the vessel within 14 days.

In Ipoh, Perak Mentri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu told reporters after chairing the Perak Water Board meeting that the oil spill had not reached Perak.