Popular island beach closed by oil slick

Ao Phrao was closed and tourists moved away from the popular island beach on Khao Laem Ya-Mu Koh Samet National Park after an oil slick washed ashore on Sunday night, coating the area with gooey muck.

Work crews were on Monday still trying to clean the crude oil from the sandy beach and the waters of the usually picturesque sandy beach and bay on the western part of the island.

Samet park chief Sumet Saithongsaid on Monday confirmed the beach was temporarily closed and tourists had been evacuated.

Other parts of the island have not affected by the slick, the park chief said.

The crude oil leaked from an offshore pipeline at a refinery operated by PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) in   Map Ta Phut industrial estate in Rayong province early Saturday morning. Navy soldiers and company work gangs have been struggling to contain it, despite reporting early success.

The oil slick was caused by a leak in the pipe, which was carrying crude being unloaded by an offshore tanker, about 6.50am on Saturday.

This is a photos before.

Reference news from : BangkokPost

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Plodprasop says foreign help needed to contain spill

Thailand is ill-equipped to handle the Rayong oil spill, Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi admitted Tuesday.

He also said the government must set up a committee to handle the catastrophe.
Government spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi wrote on his Twitter account that Mr Plodprasop was speaking while in Mozambique Tuesday as part of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's delegation during her five-day, three-country trip to Africa. The delegation moved on to Tanzania later Tuesday.

Mr Plodprasop conceded that Thailand lacked sufficient equipment to deal with the situation and prevent the oil slick from reaching the shore.

Mr Plodprasop said authorities should seek help from Singapore, which has proper equipment to contain oil slicks.

The environment and the tourism and fishing industries are most at risk from the oil spill, he said, and priority must be placed on protecting them.

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The deputy premier said PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) would be "paying every baht" to cover the cost of damages, according to Mr Teerat's tweet.

Also speaking from Mozambique, Ms Yingluck said PTTGC would cover the cost of damages caused by the spill, while the government would move to ensure the safety of locals and tourists.

Ms Yingluck said she has instructed agencies to seek assistance, if needed, from neighbouring countries which are equipped to handle such a crisis. (Story continued after the graphic)

Reference : http://www.bangkokpost.com