Pattaya probes oil-like slick on Koh Larn beaches

Pattaya Mayor Poramet Ngampichet has ordered an urgent inspection after what local officials described as an oil-like substance, washed ashore along more than one kilometre of beaches on Koh Larn, Chonburi.

The residue was reported on the afternoon of 9 August 2569 at Hat Tien and Hat Samae San, on the western side of the island in Moo 7, Na Kluea, Bang Lamung district. Local umbrella-and-sunbed operators and passenger boat businesses photographed the material floating offshore before waves carried it on to the beaches.

Visitors found residue on their skin

Photographs show what appeared to be large sheets of engine-oil residue breaking up into smaller clumps along the shoreline. The material was spread across the sand for a combined distance of more than one kilometre.

Thai and foreign tourists who had gone swimming reportedly found their bodies covered in the oily substance after coming out of the water. They rushed to wash themselves, according to reports.

City officials sent to identify source

Mayor Poramet said Pattaya City's administrative officials were being sent to inspect the affected areas and establish the facts.

The investigation is expected to determine both the nature of the substance and its possible source. No cause has yet been confirmed, and it remains unclear whether the material is oil or another pollutant.

Koh Larn is a popular day-trip destination from Pattaya, with visitors commonly travelling there by passenger boat from Bali Hai Pier. Authorities had not announced beach closures or restrictions at this time.

Pictures courtesy of Daily News

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10 August 2026