Thailand authorities are now rushing to stop a massive oil spill from reaching the shores of popular beaches in the eastern part of the country. Officials said Sunday that the spill, which had begun last week, is now moving towards more coastal areas.
The minister of Thailand's Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, Varawut Silpa-archa, said it was vital that they stop the oil spill from reaching the shore. He said the spill has already irreversibly damaged the fragile marine ecosystem of some areas, and it is now threatening to do more damage to both the environment and the country's tourism sector.
Varawut said the main mass of the oil spill is now moving towards the shores of Ao Prao on the popular resort island of Koh Samet. He said if the oil spill reached the shores of the island, it could severely damage shallow-water corals.
Authorities said the oil spill was traced back to a damaged pipeline owned by Star Petroleum Refining Public Company Limited (SPRC). Before the company was able to seal up the leak, it was estimated that over 50,000 liters of oil may have made its way into the surrounding waters. The leak was located roughly 20 kilometers from the nearest coastline in eastern Thailand.
Over the weekend, several beaches in Thailand's Rayong province were declared disaster areas. Swimming and other water activities were prohibited as officials worked to clean up the oil.
Thailand's Geo-informatics and Space Technology Development Agency said the oil spill has already spread to an area of around 67 square kilometers. The Navy and the coast guard, who are working on containing the spill, said most of the oil was now spread thinly over the water as opposed to being a thick oil slick.
Navy officials said the main mass of the oil spill was still located offshore and only a small portion of it was able to make it onto the shore. Officials said some of the oil had made it to two spots along the seven-mile beach at Mae Rampheung.
The Navy said around 150 Star Petroleum Refining employees and 200 navy troops had been dispatched to clean up the beach. They had also erected oil boom barriers to slow the oil's spread. With booms and dispersing spray, twelve naval ships, three civilian ships, and a number of airplanes worked to assist in containing the leak.
The deputy commander of the first naval area command, Rear Admiral Artorn Charapinyo, said the Navy and Star Petroleum are working together to reduce the amount of oil by sucking it up and spraying it with dispersants.
