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An oil spill exercise led by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was carried out this morning in order to test and demonstrate the port of Singapore's effectiveness in responding to oil spill incidents.

The Joint Oil Spill Exercise, or JOSE 2008, forms part of the list of events for this year's Singapore International Bunkering Conference (SIBCON), which has drawn to a close today.

Singapore Maritime Week 2008, the country's flagship maritime event, has covered a comprehensive range of programmes over the past seven days, which has included international conferences, seminars, and dialogues on topical issues; social activities for business networking; community events; and exhibitions for the general public.

Located at sea about 2.8 kilometres (or 1.5 nautical miles) from Raffles Lighthouse, the JOSE 2008 exercise involved 16 anti-pollution craft and showcased for the first time an aerial dispersant application by aircraft.

Approximately 100 participants from MPA, Shell Eastern Petroleum Pte Ltd, Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Police Coast Guard (PCG), Agri-Food Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), National Environment Agency (NEA), National Parks Board, oil spill response companies, and six oil terminals were involved in this full-scale oil spill exercise.

Commenting on the issue of marine incidents earlier this week, the MPA said "MPA, as the lead agency responding to marine incidents, makes committed efforts to protect the environment. This is of utmost importance as we continue to develop Singapore as a major shipping and petrochemical hub.

"Working with other agencies and the industry, MPA has also drawn up comprehensive contingency plans that are tested and validated through regular exercises."