Despite frantic efforts to contain the leak before it reached the shore, oil from the pipeline leak in the waters about 20 kilometres off the coast of Rayong, south of Pattaya, has begun to hit the shores. The Royal Thai Navy has been leading the efforts to contain the oil that was leaked out into the sea.
They warn that it could take more than one month to clean and restore the beach where the oil washed ashore. The oil spill began when oil started floating in the waters off the coast on Tuesday as the company, Star Petroleum Refining tried to stop the oil from reaching Rayong beaches. Original estimates put the spill at about 160,000 litres of crude oil though the Bangkok Post quoted a leak of about 50,000 litres.
The leak occurred on Tuesday evening at a mooring point off the coast where oil tankers load and offload. A day later the leak was brought under control. But now the…
