Jan 29, 2022: According to a report by Reuters, a beach in eastern Thailand was declared a disaster area on Saturday as oil leaking from an underwater pipeline in the Gulf of Thailand continued to wash ashore and blacken the sand.
The leak from the pipeline owned by Star Petroleum Refining Public Company Limited started late on Tuesday and was brought under control a day later after spilling an estimated 50,000 litres of oil into the ocean 20 km from the country’s industrialised eastern seaboard.
Part of the oil from the spill reached the shoreline at Mae Ramphueng beach in Rayong province after spreading over 47 sq km of sea in the gulf.
The navy is working with the SPRC to control the leak and said the main oil mass was still offshore and only a small amount at at least two places along the 12 km long coastline. The Navy said about 150 SPRC personnel and 200 Navy personnel were deployed to clean up the coast and oil boom barriers were set up.
Several aircraft, along with 12 navy ships and three civilian ships, were also working to stop the sea splashing with rapid and dispersing sprays.
“We and the company are still working at sea to reduce the amount of oil by cornering the spill and sucking up the oil and spraying dispersant,” Rear Admiral Artorn Charapinyo, deputy commander of the first Naval Area command, told reporters.
Stay tuned to BaaghiTV for latest news and Updates!
