Singapore and Malaysia on April 9 held their first-ever jointchemical spill recovery drill at sea along the Straits of Johor.

Conducted by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) andthe Malaysia Marine Department (MMD), it was held to test the readinessof their agencies to respond in such a crisis.

A statementfrom the MPA and Singapore ’s National Environment Agency (NEA) saidthe exercise is part of a bilateral cooperation programme under theMalaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment and the EmergencyResponse Plan.

It aims to enhance the preparedness of emergencyresponse agencies from both countries in tackling potential chemicalaccidents involving the seaborne transportation of hazardous chemicalsin the Straits of Johor.

To address any chemical spillincidents at sea, the MPA has put in place the Chemical Contingency Plan(Marine), which covers the roles and responsibilities of respondingagencies for cleanup operations.

In the event of an incident,the MPA will monitor and coordinate cleanup operations at sea while theNEA will monitor the air and water quality and coordinate the cleanupefforts at any affected shore areas.

Andrew Tan, MPA chiefexecutive, said regional cooperation is important as incidents at searesulting in chemical and oil spills are often transboundary in nature.

Such an exercise allows the two countries to test regional andmulti-agency response capabilities so that they are ready andwell-prepared to respond swiftly and effectively to any maritimeaccidents, be it a collision, chemical leak or oil spill, he added.-VNA