Thailand on Thursday reported the second oil spill within one month in the Gulf of Thailand. The incident has at least doubled the damage to the marine environment off the coast of Rayong, an expert said. The SPRC was responsible for the oil spill.
The latest oil spill, spotted at around 9 a.m. local time Thursday, is located in the same area as the last oil leak. The spill volume is estimated to be below 20 tons. The oil spill is about three nautical miles from the oil tank and about 20 km from the shore.
Thon Thamrongnawasawat, deputy dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University, said oil slicks are visible along Mae Ramphueng beach.
After the first spill, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment urged the police to investigate SPRC. The company ceased operations immediately after the incident.
However, SPRC admitted on Thursday that a further 5,000 liters of crude oil had leaked from the same pipeline. The company did not reveal further details, saying it has reported the latest accident to related authorities and called for assistance to control the spreading of the contamination.
The SPRC was responsible for the oil spill that occurred on Jan. 25, which was estimated to see up to 50 tons of crude oil leak from its underwater pipeline into the Gulf of Thailand and forced local authorities in Rayong Province to close a beach as the oil washed ashore.