BANGKOK – Mae Ramphueng beach in the eastern province of Rayong in Thailand has been declared a disaster area, after an oil spill from an underwater pipeline reached the shoreline at Mae Ramphueng beach late on Friday.
Local media reported that about 200 navy personnel and 150 workers from Star Petroleum Refining Public Company Limited (Star Petroleum), the owner of the pipeline, have been deployed to clean up the beach.
Rayong Governor Channa Iamsaeng said said visitors have been barred from entering the area to step up cleaning operations.
Meanwhile, Pollution Control Department head Attapol Charoenchansa said the oil washed ashore so far had already been dissolved by dispersants.
“It can be mopped up using a special paper and disposed of,” he was quoted saying by Thai PBS.
The leak at the pipelines occurred at about 9pm (local time) on Tuesday and the leak was stopped early Wednesday. The oil slick washed up on the beach on Friday, polluting the shoreline for a distance of more than 2km.
It is estimated about 50,000 litres of crude oil leaked from the pipeline, about 20km southeast of the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate.
A satellite image from Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency showed oil slicks covering 47sq km drifting towards Rayong’s shoreline yesterday.
Earlier this week, authorities said it might take over a month to restore the affected beach areas. – Bernama, January 29, 2022
