Tick the box at the Secret Mangrove Lagoon

There is a secret lagoon on Seringat-Kias opposite the Business District on mainland Singapore. This small opening in the seawall connects the lagoon to the sea. 

We came to see the tiny box jellyfish that have been noted to thrive here. Thanks to guidance from Mathias Luk, we were not disappointed! We also checked up on the super rare mangroves thriving here, and had a quick look at Eagle Bay. Sadly, seagrasses there are still not doing well. 

Oil slick still seen on Seringat-Kias

As the evening low tides start, we survey Lazarus Island and the artificial Seringat-Kias lagoon (also called Eagle Bay by boaters). 

These shores were impacted by the 400tonne Pasir Panjang oil spill on 14 Jun 2024. As well as the 2024 global mass coral bleaching. Sadly, I sense about 50% of seagrasses in Eagle Bay are gone with patches of oil slick still present. On a happier note, the corals at Lazarus Island seemed to have pulled through.

Singapore's second marine park: past, present and future

Plans for Singapore's second national Marine Park at Lazarus South-Kusu Reef were announced on 9 May 2024.

Overlooking the Central Business District,
the rich reef edge of Kusu Island can be seen at the lowest tides.

Kusu Island indeed has some of the best reefs that the public can visit. While Lazarus Island has one of our largest coastal forests on natural cliffs and rocky shores. Here's a look at the islands' past, present and future.

Lazarus and Seringat-Kias still alive!

We survey Lazarus Island and the artificial Seringat-Kias lagoon (also called Eagle Bay by boaters).

Seagrasses are still growing well at the artificial lagoon, and the natural coastal forest at Lazarus still okay. The shores seem quieter than in the past, but we didn't see any bleaching corals or mass deaths.

Dragon explosion at Seringat-Kias seagrass meadows

Evening tides resume! We survey Lazarus Island and the artificial Seringat-Kias lagoon (also called Eagle Bay by boaters). This Saturday evening, the Bay was packed with boats!

The seagrasses still grow lush here, and today, they were teaming with Blue dragon nudibranchs. We also saw special sea stars, sea anemones and other marvelous marine life. 

Seagrasses lush at Seringat-Kias

A small team checked out the natural rocky shores of Lazarus Island as well as the completely artificial Seringat-Kias lagoon. 

I was blown away to see lush growths of rare seagrass species flourishing in the lagoon. The team also found cone snail and other amazing marine life.

Return to Lazarus after a decade

Today, for the first time in 10 years, I surveyed the natural shores at southern Lazarus Island! 

It was great to see the coastal forests here are still thriving. As well as living sandy shores, rocky shores and lots of soft corals on the shore facing Kusu Island. The rest of the team also saw cone snails, nudibranchs and other interesting marine life.

Bay of Marinas: rare mangroves in secret lagoon!

There is a secret lagoon on Seringat-Kias opposite the Business District on mainland Singapore. This small opening in the seawall connects the lagoon to the sea.

Today, I found the lagoon is full of the rare Api-api jambu (Avicennia marina), probably 50 or more trees! Seagrasses have also taken over the lagoon. These have all taken root naturally, without any human planting. Meanwhile, the rest of the team saw THREE Giant clams as they surveyed Lazarus Island. And our skipper sighted THREE sea turtles!

Three-clam day at Lazarus Island

While I was surveying a secret lagoon at Seringat-Kias, the rest of the team surveyed Lazarus Island.

All photos by Jianlin Liu.

They found THREE Giant clams, a special octopus and more!

Sea turtles at Seringat-Kias lagoon

Today, three sea turtles were sighted by Alex Yip, our skipper of Summit Marine Systems, as he waited on the boat in Seringat-Kias lagoon while we were doing our survey on Seringat-Kias and Lazarus Island.

He also managed to document the sightings and kindly shared them with us. Thank you Alex!

Seringat-Kias: Still seagrassy despite oil spill

It's wonderful to see the seagrasses in the artificial lagoon at Seringat-Kias are still doing well. Although we saw signs of a recent oil spill, which probably explains why the meadows were rather quiet today.

I explored a small seawall and short reefy area on the other side of the island which was much livelier.

While the rest of the team explored Lazarus and other parts of Seringat-Kias with interesting sightings like a cone snail and more!

All islands cleared of asbestos and open to the public

"All asbestos waste on the islands managed by SLA has been cleared safely" says the Singapore Land Authority in media articles. They are now open to the public again.

Pulau Hantu Kecil

SLA said that the asbestos "most likely" came from roof sheets, and was discovered in April 2018 by their contractors during maintenance and upgrading works on St John's Island. Since then, the following islands have been checked for and cleared of asbestos: Pulau Hantu, Kusu Island, Seringat-Kias, the Sisters Islands and Pulau Ubin.

Seagrass meadows in Seringat-Kias artificial lagoon

Lush seagrasses seem to have taken over the artificial lagoon at Seringat-Kias! Teeming with sea hares and other marine life.

While on the artificial seawall, there were corals and rare chitons. The team also explored Lazarus island's natural shores where they saw cone snail and giant clam.

Kusu shores closed after asbestos found

According to media articles, traces of asbestos, a hazardous material, have been discovered on Kusu Island, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said on Friday (May 4) after a similar discovery on St John's Island over a week ago.

Dotted yellow line indicates areas still open to the public.
Photo from Channel NewsAsia

Meanwhile, survey work on Pulau Hantu is expected to be completed by next week. SLA declared Lazarus Island, Pulau Seringat and Kias Island to be free of the hazardous material thus far.

Seagrasses taking over artificial lagoon at Seringat-Kias!

Five species of seagrasses are taking over the artificial lagoon at Seringat-Kias!

The team also surveyed Lazarus Island where they saw giant clam, cone snails and  more!

Living shores of Seringat-Kias

On a drizzly evening, a small team surveyed the artificial lagoon at Seringat-Kias.

Seagrasses have settled in the lagoon, with sea stars and other marine life. On the seawall, there was even a Giant clam!

Rocking shore at Lazarus

Yesterday, a small team surveyed Lazarus and Seringat-Kias. These locations are now connected via a causeway bridge to St John's Island.

The rocky shore is relatively lively and I saw some seagrasses.

Ship collision off the Marine Park on 16 Dec 2015: no oil spill

A freighter carrying 560 metric tonnes of bunker fuel sank in Indonesian waters in the Singapore Strait, 11km north-west of Batam. Singapore islands nearest the site are Kusu Island, Lazarus Island, St John's Island and the Sisters Islands.

From Vessel Finder.

According to media reports, "Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said there is no disruption to shipping traffic or reports of any oil spills in the Singapore Strait currently. Still, the MPA has readied anti-pollution craft on standby."

Oil spill alert. Please let me know if you spot signs of a spill near or at the islands above.

[Update: Photos from Reuters]

An Indonesia rescue team approaches the sunken Antigua and Barbuda flagged freighter MV Thorco Cloud which sank after colliding with a tanker the night before, in the Singapore Strait off the Indonesian island of Batam December 17, 2015 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. REUTERS/M N KANWA/ANTARA FOTO

Living Lagoon of Seringat-Kias

The artificial lagoon at Seringat-Kias is alive! It's the last series of pre-dawn surveys for 2015. We start with a very early trip checking out how it is doing.

We came across seagrasses teeming with marine life, and Knobbly sea stars! My last proper survey here in Apr 2012.

Rare mangroves and seagrasses at Seringat Kias

Return to the 'secret lagoon' at Seringat-Kias and we saw a small patch of seagrasses! They looked like Sickle seagrass as well as Needle seagrass!

We also came across Api-api jambu, a Critically Endangered mangrove tree! What a lovely surprise to see in this artificial lagoon.