Oil spill from tanker 'Agate' reaching Batam

Oil spilt last Thursday from the Singapore-flagged tanker Agate was on Monday reported spreading to waters around Batam and the Riau Islands without any official doing anything about it, Antara reported.

The spill occurred after the Agate collided with the container ship Tian Yu in the sea near Singapore.

Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority in an earlier report said the collision caused damage to several parts of the Agate, which was carrying 350 tons of Sumatra Light Crude. No information was available about the cause of the collision.

A black oily slick was beginning to cover waters near Batam and had already reached Rempang and Galang islands waters, several dozen miles from Singapore.

The coastline of the beautiful Melur beach in Batam is now heavily polluted by the spill. Hundreds of visitors who swam near the beach came out of the water with itching skin. Santo, a visitor, said "the oil came off my skin only after taking a few showers".

It is believed the spill will affect the marine habitat in Batam, which boasts a rich variety of fish and marine life.

Until Monday, no government or non-governmental body was seen taking any action to deal with the oil spill while local environment control officials were reported to be out of town. The Singaporean side was also not seen making any move to prevent the spill from spreading further.(*)