Latest News:  

English>>World

Oil leakage spreads to threaten eastern shores of Thailand

(Xinhua)

19:26, July 29, 2013

BANGKOK, July 29 (Xinhua)-- Oil spill caused by a pipeline leakage has spread to stain the eastern beachfronts of Thailand, raising fears that it would cause damage to tourism and fishery.

The oil slick reached Sunday night the Ao Phrao bay on the western side the Samet Island, a popular getaway for Thais and foreigners living in Bangkok. About 600 meters of the beachfront, which is frequented by holidaymakers, is now covered with sticky crude oil. A 20-30 cm-thick slick is floating some 20 meters from the beach. Tourists began to leave the area Monday morning.

Rayong governor Vichit Chatphaisit on Monday ordered agencies concerned to urgently clean up the beach and prevent the oil slick from spreading to other bays.

The spill took place early Saturday about 20km southeast of the Map Ta Phut seaport in Rayong. Crude oil from an Omani tanker moored offshore was being transferred to a pipeline, operated by PTT Global Chemistry Plc(PTTGC), for a refinery when a leakage was detected. About 50 tonnes, or 50,000 litres of oil was poured into the sea.

With assistance from the navy and other agencies, the company launched a clean-up mission to purge the oil slick, with a dozen of boats deployed to spray dispersants into the affect area.

It said Sunday that the oil slick had been contained and was unlikely to cause environmental damage, adding that it would continue monitoring the quality of seawater in the Gulf of Thailand.

However, Satit Pituthecha, a Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Rayong, lashed out against PTTGC on Monday for"hiding the truth". He claimed that the amount of oil spill was much more than the 50,000 liters that it claimed and it was a lie that the incident had been contained.

The incident had caused severe damage to Rayong's tourism and environment, which would take at least six months to recover, said the MP.

Meanwhile, fishermen in Rayong have demanded PTTGC to compensate them, saying that the fact that the company had merely applied chemicals to sink the leaked oil would cause long-term damage to the environment.

Ply Pirom, Greanpeace's Thailand programme manager, said the incident highlighted the fact that the Gulf of Thailand had been under threat from oil spills along oil transport routes, putting livelihoods and natural resources at risk.

He called on the government to end oil drilling and transportation in the gulf, which is also a major source of the nation's revenue from fisheries and tourism.

We Recommend:

Dachshunds attend annual Wiener Dog Racing

Collective gay wedding held in Mexico City

Best photos of week (July 8 - July 14)

'Temple Collection' on display in India

Bastille Day military parade held in Paris

Indian new recruits attend passiong out parade

Anti- government protest held in Thailand

Mexico's Popocatepetl Volcano spews ashes

Egypt unrest continues in Cairo

Email|Print|Comments(Editor:LiQian、Gao Yinan)

Leave your comment0 comments

  1. Name

  

Selections for you


  1. APF officers and men in actual-combat drill

  2. Soldiers leave for "Peace Mission 2013" drills

  3. DPRK marks 60th anniv. of armistice

  4. 37th anniversary of Tangshan earthquake

  5. Heat waves scorch many parts of China

  6. The hard life of a single father

  7. China beats Australia 4-3 in East Asian Cup

  8. Celebrity breakups

  9. Alibaba, e-concierge, soon at your service

  10. Cheap drug expected after GSK case

Most Popular

Opinions

  1. China's economy will continue to prosper
  2. Western countries face dilemma on Syrian conflict
  3. Reform, not incentives, to drive expansion
  4. Lenovo reigns as king of the hill
  5. Small exporters need more help to pass tough times
  6. Debate on internationalizing education
  7. Bo Xilai indicted for corruption
  8. China rules out provisional economic stimulus plan
  9. Removal of deposit rate ceiling not imminent
  10. Feeble Japanese-Philippine 'axis' doomed

What’s happening in China

Singer in spotlight after blog post

  1. Vietnamese brides popular in Henan township
  2. Authorities to probe 'fraud' celebrity master
  3. Homesexuals meet on lifestyle
  4. Asiana crash victims' ashes returned to relatives
  5. Drought continues to linger in Hunan