The Koh Samet oil spill has left local beachgoers, (a.k.a. everyone) in shock, as images of one of Thailand’s most famous beaches, Phrao Bay, turning black and nasty have been broadcast across the airwaves.
PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC), the state-owned oil and gas company responsible for the July 27 leak of 50 tons of crude oil from one of its pipelines, anticipated that the cleanup operation would take only three days. That statement has been perceived as a dubious calculation, especially after PTTGC previously miscalculated by saying that the slick would not reach the beaches of Koh Samet.
A PTTGC official recently admitted to Thairath that the situation was still in a crisis state due to big waves that could potentially spread the oil further than originally anticipated. It’s now seen as likely that the oil could reach the adjacent Kham Bay on Koh Samet mainland Rayong Province as well, depending on the marine weather.
A satellite screenshot photo of the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Gistda) showed that, as of July 29 at 6:23 pm, the 15-sqare-kilometer oil slick was 1.5 kilometers away from the Rayong coastline.
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The oil spill will also deal a serious economic blow to hoteliers across Koh Samet. President of the Rayong Tourist Association, Chairat Trairattanajarusporn told Thairath that the incident has prompted tourists to cancel their trips to the island, despite bookings previously made with hotels on other bays. It could take several months to regain tourist confidence.
Today, as the situation is expected to worsen, PTTGC is teaming up with the Navy and the Rayong local government to limit the damage done to the marine ecology.
Below are photos of the cleanup operations in Koh Samet, taken by netizens and wildly re-shared online.
If you have any photos of the Koh Samet oil spill you’d like to share with Coconuts, please create a post here or share them on our Facebook page here.
Photos from @Pacharapapon
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Photos from @Sitteto
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Photo from @auo4439
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Photo from @kkutu99
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