Jerry Harmer
RAYONG, THAILAND (AP) – Favourable wind and sea conditions kept an oil slick away from beaches in eastern Thailand on Sunday, according to authorities, but concerns remained that the spillage may yet strike a popular resort island.
Emergency workers in protective gear removed contaminated sand from the Mae Ramphueng beach in Rayong province, southeast of Bangkok, which was shut on Saturday.
Some 20-50 tonnes of oil are estimated to have leaked last Tuesday night in the Gulf of Thailand from an undersea hose used to load tankers at an offshore mooring point owned by the Star Petroleum Refining Co.
The leak was stopped within hours, the company said.
Most of the oil slick was being pushed toward Koh Samet, a popular tourist island that’s just beginning to recover from the coronavirus pandemic slump along with the rest of the country.
