SINGAPORE - When 18-year-old Michael Ike Chukwuebuka saw a photo of the sea and sand turned black following an oil spill in June, he felt it was a call to action.

So when the applied chemistry student at Nanyang Polytechnic received an email from the Public Hygiene Council (PHC) asking for volunteers to help remove tar balls and other debris from the sand at East Coast Park, he jumped at the opportunity.

He said: “I go to the beach several times a month to cycle and eat, so it was really sad to see the sand turn from golden to black because of the oil spill. I wanted to help in whatever way I could to restore the beaches to what they were before.”

Mr Ike was one of close to 50 volunteers who were at East Coast Park on July 20, the first day of the final phase of cleanup efforts following the oil spill in June.

About 400 tonnes of oil spilled into Singapore waters after Netherlands-flagged dredging boat Vox Maxima hit the stationary Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour at Pasir Panjang Terminal on June 14.

The spill affected numerous areas, including East Coast Park, Keppel Bay, the Southern Islands and Sentosa.

The volunteers, who were from groups like Kindred Community and SG Beach Warriors, combed the sand for tar balls – remnant oil deposits which have hardened and mixed with sand – and other marine litter on the coastline of East Coas...