Singapore simulates oil spill reaching Indonesian and Malaysian shores

The Revolving Fund Committee oversaw the ground deployment exercise.

Singapore, along with Indonesia and Malaysia, conducted a ground deployment exercise to strengthen coordination in responding to oil spills in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

The exercise simulated an oil spill caused by a vessel collision in Singapore waters, with the spill subsequently reaching the shores of Indonesia and Malaysia.

It was conducted under the Revolving Fund Committee ahead of Singapore’s 17th Joint Oil Spill Exercise (JOSE) 2026.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) led the exercise, which tested information sharing, response planning, and mutual assistance amongst the three littoral states.

Indonesia and Malaysia also deployed response assets in their respective waters to test their response arrangements under the simulated scenario.

Separately, MPA hosted representatives from government agencies, industry partners, and international organisations at its integrated operations hub lab as part of JOSE 2026.

The programme showcased Singapore’s oil spill response capabilities, including the coordinated deployment of containment, dispersal, and recovery assets.

MPA also highlighted the use of its Maritime Digital Twin to predict oil spill movements, alongside artificial intelligence to support response planning and resource deployment.

Potential applications of unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned surface vessels, including concepts trialled with ST Engineering, were also presented.