SINGAPORE, Nov 6 — Four crew members from the Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima have been charged under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 following an oil spill on June 14.

The four men, named by The Straits Times as Merijn Heidema, 25; Martin Hans Sinke, 48; Richard Ouwehand, 49; and Eric Peijpers, 55, will appear in court again on December 4.

The spill, which released around 400 tonnes of fuel into the sea, occurred when the dredger collided with the stationary Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour at Pasir Panjang Terminal.

Described as the worst oil spill in the region in a decade, the incident affected the coastlines of East Coast Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, and Sentosa, as well as the Johor coastline in Kota Tinggi.