Nisa

Wonder what is up with cell phone video that starts the video showing a motorbike laying in the street. Was there a hit and run? Might explain why the medical crew got their so fast.

PTT is a State Owned publicly traded Fortune 500 Company whose parent company is Thailand's Ministry of Finance.

I thought PTT already accepted responsibility and stated they will pay for damages and clean up. If there were PTT engineers out there then there would be cries they are skewing the numbers.

It wouldn't do any harm for a couple of PTT people to turn up now and then but they made a statement about responsibility and compensation then disappeared.

What kind of photo op would you think appropriate for them? There is no way they could win in this situation from a PR stance. Clearly they have been involved big time in the cleanup and came out and apologized, accepted responsibility, agreed to pay for the clean up and those effected and have already begun compensating those effected. Easy to be mad at oil companies when things like this happen but in this case they appear to be taking the high road and can't recall any other incident like this where a company has been so quick to accept responsibility especially when the fault may lay with a defective part from Goodyear. The lawyers must have been going nuts when the company took responsibility and offered to pay claims so quickly.

Clearly they could have reacted better as is almost always the case in any situation like this but hindsight is always 20/20 ... especially when we don't have all the facts.

Oh man. Seriously? This article is all over the place. First they say the samples are coming from the beach sand, and then they reference seawater samples. Then the article states " that the level of mercury in Ao Tub Tim and Ao Phrao has fallen to below the acceptable standard."

Highly unlikely. If an area shows as having high levels of mercury, or more likely monomethylmercury, the likelihood of it dissipating over a few days is unlikely. I won't bore everyone with the references, but it just doesn't happen that way. Either we have exceptionally poor journalism on display or there is an intent to mislead the public.

The way I read the article is they are testing a number of things in a number of places.

The article doesn't mention this but the original Mercury reports are from the first few days in August. However that report wasn't released until earlier this week. Subsequent tests were done at the same time as the initial report was released but were released days later.

I thought PTT already accepted responsibility and stated they will pay for damages and clean up. If there were PTT engineers out there then there would be cries they are skewing the numbers.

2 bays have mercury levels way high and they are out of bounds for swimming, Yesterday Thai TV.

I love parts of Samet, Tub Tim, Whitesand beach, no probs here.

The coral is black off the 2 main areas affected. No diving . Tourism at other places are not in Question. Here at the worst site as you say it looks brill, and my friends have put in hard work and long hours there, but take a hoe and dig into the sand 6 inches down you come to an oil layer. surface fine. water blue and looks inviting. We will have to see when these mercury levels fall, then the businesses in the 2 bays can get started on a slow recovery.

Nisa you don't have to defend so strong, I wish for all to be back to normal, and will wait to hear when the compo money starts to flow from PTT.

I suggest you read the link I provided (http://www.pattayamail.com/news/test-shows-sea-water-at-most-beaches-on-samet-island-safe-29290) which already states the waters are no longer dangerous and gives a strong indication the report due out today will indicate they are safe.

I certainly never suggested the beach, water or environment in the area was perfect or 100% or even back to normal ... I assumed we all knew that an oil spill does lasting damage. I simply indicated folks had done a very good job in getting things cleaned up and taking responsibility but if you disagree then so be it ... we agree to disagree.

Edit: No reason to wait to hear about compensation starting to flow, as I stated, it is already happening http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Big-clean-up-on-Koh-Samet-while-local-fishermen-ge-30212363.html

We have to accept that there will be accidents/spillage in the transfer of fluids or nearly any product from ship to shore.

The timely response with needed/ required equipment with operation by experienced/trained response team, is the secert to containment of any spill.

If the first response was to notify Singapore and ask for experts to travel to the site, this would indicate no one nor was containment equipment avaliable to manage containment of a relative small spill.

The guidelines/regulations are out there to prepare for this type of accident, containment, cleanup, etc, You cannot make regulations that are dependent on human action without imposing a penality for nonperforance/compliance, when needed.

This whole spill has been underestimated. responed to and pollution estimates, low balled from the get go. If spill response had been as effeciant as the spill damage committee's findings, this would have been a no mention in the news media.

While rarely is any response to any emergency like this perfect, it would seem they actually did one heck of a job getting this mess cleaned up in a very timely fashion.

One only needs to look at the current pictures of the beach compared to two weeks ago. Great job to all those, especially the many hundreds of volunteers who worked on the clean up.

There simply is no way to guarantee the ability by anyone to contain oil on the open seas with unpredictable tides and winds. If there was, oil spills would not be such a big deal.

Your first two Paragraphs were spot on, but although on the surface it looks o.k. the poison levels are too high for sea bathing, it says NOT SAFE. (2 days ago report)

Now when our good tourists arrive they will not check in because of this after all it is a holiday destination for sand and sea.

2 areas / bays are still suffering. so no business unless you want sand only.

If you read the reports from the initial spill the way under estimated the leak and were late to call in the services of Singapore to help or the navy in Sattahip.

I believe the tests reported a few days ago in the Bangkok Post stated the samples were taken Aug . 3th and 4th when the beach was covered in oil.

If you check this link you will see the waters are now pretty much safe and not dangerous with the most recent tests from the 13th and they expect the tests done today will actually be even better but they already are now categorized as not being dangerous even on Ao Phrao.

http://www.pattayamail.com/news/test-shows-sea-water-at-most-beaches-on-samet-island-safe-29290

Regardless, an oil spill is never good for tourism but I suggest you do a search for Singapore oil spills and you;ll find they have no magic way to protect their coastlines from oil spills. Certainly they could have asked for assistance sooner but again no response is ever perfect even when it comes to police or fire who often call for back up when they realize the situation has changed or is not as manageable as they hoped or assumed.

I guess it all depends on how you want to look at things ... be grateful within two weeks things are pretty much cleaned up or look for every instance were they could have done better and focus on that along with any other negative aspects.

Yes tourism will be hurt on the island for a short time but not devastated and this will soon all be in the past when it comes to tourism and this incident won't affect overall tourism given there are so many great tourist destinations including great beaches in Thailand.

Terrible thing that never should have happened and somebody needs to pay but it looks like somebody has already said they would and actually is already starting to do so.

Just another "shut the stable door after the horse has bolted" . I wish I could believe that lessons will be learnt fom this incident however 30 years of pesonal history suggests that nothing will change in a culture that refuses to accept blame and responsibility and who can do nothing wrong.

I thought PTT immediatley accepted blame, apologized and said they would compensate anyone affected and pay for the costs of clean up.

Sounds to me like they are both taking responsibility as well as admitting wrong ... something I have never seen after an oil spill where lawsuits generally drag on many many years. PTT also has a perfect out by blaming the manufacturer (I believe Goodyear) of the tube which failed causing the leak and which was only 1 year old and scheduled to be replaced every 2-years.

Personally I believe it is rare to see any company respond this way in similar circumstances. Lawyers generally would never allow such things as admitting fault and taking financial responsibility especially when there is a good chance Goodyear may be also liable.

We have to accept that there will be accidents/spillage in the transfer of fluids or nearly any product from ship to shore.

The timely response with needed/ required equipment with operation by experienced/trained response team, is the secert to containment of any spill.

If the first response was to notify Singapore and ask for experts to travel to the site, this would indicate no one nor was containment equipment avaliable to manage containment of a relative small spill.

The guidelines/regulations are out there to prepare for this type of accident, containment, cleanup, etc, You cannot make regulations that are dependent on human action without imposing a penality for nonperforance/compliance, when needed.

This whole spill has been underestimated. responed to and pollution estimates, low balled from the get go. If spill response had been as effeciant as the spill damage committee's findings, this would have been a no mention in the news media.

While rarely is any response to any emergency like this perfect, it would seem they actually did one heck of a job getting this mess cleaned up in a very timely fashion.

One only needs to look at the current pictures of the beach compared to two weeks ago. Great job to all those, especially the many hundreds of volunteers who worked on the clean up.

There simply is no way to guarantee the ability by anyone to contain oil on the open seas with unpredictable tides and winds. If there was, oil spills would not be such a big deal.

I think you are being protective of your family, which is a good thing, but it is causing you to direct your anger and frustration over the incident at everyone but your niece who it appears clearly was breaking a few laws, taking drugs and got caught.

If you want this matter on the books then by all means pursue the issue and have your niece get an actual police record which would do her harm when it comes to her career and if she ever wants to immigrate to a first world country.

And by the way, there is absolutely no doubt the police know what drug she took and informed the niece. They don't test for abnormal urine, they test for specific drugs having been consumed.

As for complaining because she was not jailed and brought before a judge and marked for life with a criminal record and instead you were able to make a payoff to avoid this .... I have no idea why you would think this might be a good thing for her or you.

Be happy you have the money in Thailand to buy your way out of a situation like this. In many countries it would take a lot more money, power and connections to keep an incident like this off the books.

Another typical Thai photo opportunity staged to look as if they are really doing something. No doubt these participants are paid for this mass gathering.

This same purported clean-up crew should be where the real spill has effected the beaches and not on a pristine clean beach that has not a spot of oil. Not one spot of oil on their absorbent pads and not one oily pad in the garbage bin.

What a farce.

That is Ao Phrao, the beach affected by the oil, in the photo. Below is a photo at the height of the problem ...

http://pattayatoday.net/wp-content/uploads/cache/49513_NpAdvHover.jpg

While human trafficking and slave labor exist with more horrific accounts than mentioned here ... I would wager this article and the events of this alleged individual are complete BS.

Looks like the response to this crisis has been managed very well in terms of results. Within 2 weeks the oil is for the most part cleaned up and people whose livelihood were effected are already being compensated .. not to mention PTT taking public responsibility immediately even though it "may" turn out that the hose that failed, supplied by Goodyear, "might" have been defective. Good Job to all involved in the cleanup of what was another oil spill that could have been avoided but all in all Thailand has been fortunate to not see more problems like this with more than 200 oil facilities in the Gulf as pointed out in a CNN report .... http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/31/world/asia/thailand-beach-oil-spill

Who was actually responsible for this ??? Looks to me like a host of different bodies, so we can shift blame to whoever we want as the mood takes. We have to look at airport security as a whole, no quick fixes ever.

Simple example, NO sharp objects to be taken aboard the aircraft as they could be used to attack or Hi-jack etc. Food is then served with stainless steel KNIVES. FFSake, We need to be and feel safe, but have to follow rules.

While you are right in your point, I don't think butter knives with round blades were ever banned items. But the fact is that airport security is mainly about making people feel safe and lowering risks. There is absolutely no way you can have security without placing extraordinary burden on travelers ... much more that taking off shoes & belts or scanning your laptop separately.

Does anybody really believe nobody thought about hiding something in shoes prior to the shoe bomber? Of course not but the response of taking off shoes was to make the public feel safer. Anybody wanting to bring a bomb or weapon on a plane can do so easily ... no current detector in use at airports sniffs or sees up somebody's anus.

As for sneaking into the country without going through immigration ... this is not a major security point of airports since people enter countries illegally in droves outside the airport. Anybody who can pick a lock or disable an alarm on a door or defeat a keypad security door can get out of just about any airport if luck is with them and nobody happens to be monitoring that door which is likely the case most of the time ... and why they are alarmed or locked.

On the other hand ... arriving at an airport with a prisoner and making no security at the airport aware of this and then falling asleep and letting the prisoner walk away would be a gross security failure if true.

Australian conscripts sent to the Viet Nam war (actually in Viet Nam) died at a lower rate than the road toll for their demographic back home. Somehow, that statistic didn't make them feel much better about being sent there.

Yea, choosing to visit one of the most beautiful and visited countries in the world is comparable to being forced to go to war ... that is if you are trying your hardest to be negative.

I think they say most accidents in the home happen in the bathroom but those wishing to enjoy life still use the bathroom regularly instead of sh@tting in their pants.

Ahhh - I see where I went wrong. Sweden has a death rate of 10.21 deaths/1,000 population ... which equals 1021 per 100,000 and not 10,210. My decimal was off.[/size]

But again, seems the death rate in Thailand is not much different and would mean you'd expect about 112 deaths per year for 400,000 visitors staying an average of 10-days. [/size]

At a glance, 10% of the population dying each year should have told you something.................

To me the point is: "Why pay good money and sit so long on an airplane... to die?" Since this is the Land of Smiles, gentle people, lovely people, etc., etc, I would hope for a LOWER mortality rate. But then conventional thinkinhg is that Thailand is Heaven on earth and its so much safer here so lets blame the deceased

P.S. Brand Thailand is going strong and seems to defy any Tipping Point or push back...

That is because most people visiting Thailand are not old curmudgeons whose purpose in life is to spread doom and gloom views and seek out others with similar miserable dispositions. Instead they are informed enough to know a less developed nation has problems of a less developed nation but also has huge advantages especially when you consider all the beauty in Thailand and how relatively cheap it is to have a great experience here. That is why tourism continues to boom in Thailand and continues to be on a fast upward trend despite all the Chicken Littles here crying about the sky falling every time something negative is in the news.

And OZ ... great job being able to point out my mistake ... after I already did.

Ahhh - I see where I went wrong. Sweden has a death rate of 10.21 deaths/1,000 population ... which equals 1021 per 100,000 and not 10,210. My decimal was off.

But again, seems the death rate in Thailand is not much different and would mean you'd expect about 112 deaths per year for 400,000 visitors staying an average of 10-days.

Now that the number is in line there is no real big need to make huge discounts for ill folks not traveling though some adjustment should be made but then again adjustments could be made for the percentage of retired folks living here and the fact people visiting a less developed nation (and one known for vices) tend to be risk takers and have more accidents.

People should realize that no airport is secure and priorities are about preventing dangerous people and weapons from going onto planes and not immigration but the bottom line is no airport can even guarantee a bomb is not brought on a plane even though this is one of their highest priorities. If people want to enter a country without papers and going through immigration, there are much easier ways to do it then going through an airport.

Security at airports is designed to limit instances of breaches. There is no way to make them not happen unless passengers are willing to undergo cavity searches and be shackled and escorted their entire time ... and even then there is no guarantee.

\

It was 2 Australian SERCO security personnel, and nothing at all to do with Thais.

So, all you knee-jerk, Thai-bashing, xenophobic fools can feel free to apologize about now.

A prisoner slipping out of the Thailand-run airport through an unsecured fire exit (or one that he was able to manually disable) without setting off any alarm and without passing through Thai Immigration "is nothing at all to do with Thais"?????

Really???

You act as though an airport is a prison. They didn't even know this guy was a prisoner. Airports are designed for people to come and go and yes there are checks but they are not designed to the same standards of maximum security prisons were people happen to also escape from all over the world. If somebody has the know how they can come and go in any airport in the world avoiding security. There are constant news reports of innocent people being found in places they shouldn't be in airports and even on airplanes. Yes it is a mistake but doesn't come close to the screw up by the Australian Security officers. Trying to make this a Thai issue is akin to blaming the door manufacturer. 98% of the blame is on the security folks who fell asleep and didn't alert Thai authorities of a prisoner in transit.

This guy is a professional thief and clearly skilled at disarming alarms. Why not blame Germany and Australia because they both allowed him to commit crimes in their country where he probably disabled alarms too in order to get in and out of secure places.

Oh please! He managed to move from the transit lounge into the country by-passing customs and immigration, which is a major security breach in any airport. Try at Sydney, Heathrow or JFK and you'd be arrested before you got 20 yards.

And what sort of security door has the alarm on the secured side to be disabled even by a "professional thief"? Transit lounges are secured to keep people IN, the alarms are on the outside of the door.

The concept that Thai authorities should have informed that a prisoner was transitting is BS. Do other criminals, smugglers, illegal immigrants, whatever, give prior notice they are coming? Or are the security systems there to prevent illegal entry, or not, in this case?

Really? At Heathrow they can't even seem to keep prisoners from escaping from the jail cell at the airport http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1205204/Migrant-rapes-woman-twice-escaping-Heathrow-cell.html

A simple Google Search will show you numerous security breaches at just about any major airport. There is no airport which can prevent such happening or even stop weapons from going on planes and they can only try to limit and discourage it ... unless of course you want Airports to operate as prisons instead of as places designed to process hundreds of thousands of travelers daily as quickly as reasonably possible.

The difference is... no one from the Australian side is arguing they didn't screw up... They clearly did, so there's no debate about that.

On the other hand, the Thai authorities initially insisted they were blameless in this. They clearly weren't. They may not have been primarily responsible for this guy escaping. but they clearly are responsible for not operating a secure airport, which is what they are legally required to do.

If this guy can land in BKK and manage enter the country by totally evading Thai Immigration, then presumably so can any variety of other bad players who neither the Thai authorities nor most of us would want staying here in the country. That's where the locals failed to meet their responsibility.

I have seen no claims by Thais saying they did nothing wrong and in fact the second line in this OP clearly states they are meeting to see where security broke down.

Indeed, no one seems concerned that unauthorised access was granted to areas in the airport. This would be considered a very serious security issue normally.

From the second line in the OP ...

The Airports of Thailand (AoT) and the Immigration Police will convene this Monday to investigate the events of May 15, which is when the suspect escaped.

10 days after the event.

You don't think they knew long ago (like same day) how he escaped from the video cameras? Numerous news sources have stated security has been beefed up at the airport since this has happened and yes, 10 days later they are still meeting to discuss and address the issue. A very far cry from you statement that nobody seems concerned as they normally should be.

Just because police don't provide all details to the press doesn't mean one should assume the absurd.

Well, the personnel escorting him were not Australian Police, rather a couple of employees of SERCO! A company that has managed to get itself involved in everything, from running the immigration detention centres to providing catering services at all Australian military bases!

No graft and corruption there!

Yea just catching up on the most recent news out there on this. It appears he served his time in Australia for crime(s) and they deported him back to his home country where he happens to have warrants for his arrest. I am curious if Australian Authorities even had the legal authority to escort him back to Germany. I haven't seen any mention of any extradition orders but that doesn't mean there weren't but if there weren't might explain why he was not in cuffs and why no mention was made to authorities in Thailand since he technically may not have legally been a prisoner.

The whole initial mention of Interpol involvement seems a bit odd too as he was in custody in Australia for a number of years. Really not much reason for their involvement seeing how Germany knew where he was and simply would need to file for extradition. I'm far from an expert on Interpol but can't understand why they would need to be involved after his incarceration in Australia and up until he escaped at the airport.