All-out bid to contain oil spill

[Lite Beer]

OIL SPILL
All-out bid to contain spill
The Sunday Nation

An oil spill is visible in the sea off Rayong province yesterday following a leak of a crude pipe from an offshore platform.
Strong winds and waves pose threat after leak in Gulf of Thailand

BANGKOK: -- An oil spill in the Gulf of Thailand caused by a pipe leak at an offshore platform yesterday has led to concern about the possible adverse impacts on the environment.

More than 70 tonnes of crude oil spilled into the sea following a leak in a crude-oil pipe at an offshore platform operated by PTT Global Chemical, a subsidiary of national petroleum company PTT.

The spill spread to form a V shape over a distance of 1.5 nautical miles, according to the Navy, which sent out ships and helicopters to help in the containment mission.

In a statement, PTT Global Chemical said the leak of a crude transport pipe with 16-inch diameter took place shortly before 7am at a single-point mooring, about 20 kilometres southeast of the Map Ta Phut deep-sea port in Rayong.

Pratheep Aengchuan, director of the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, said the leak was plugged and booms were used to contain oil spill in the sea.

Booms are temporary floating barriers used to reduce the possibility of polluting shorelines and other resources, and to help make recovery easier. Booms help to concentrate oil in thicker surface layers so that skimmers, vacuums, or other collection methods could be used more effectively.

He said the relevant agencies were working round the clock to prevent the spill from reaching the shores, which would adversely affect the environment and tourism.

Pollution Control Department director-general Wichien Jungrungruang expressed concern that increasingly stronger winds could obstruct the authorities' efforts to contain the oil slick.

"Strong winds and waves will allow oil slicks to spread to the shores faster. This may affect the ecological system and [seaside] communities," he said.

The Navy and the relevant agencies - including the Pollution Control Department, Harbour Department, and Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand - worked together yesterday in a bid to contain the spill, according to Wichien. Booms were laid out around the spill and an oil skimmer was used to collect the leaked crude, he said.

Asst Prof Thon Thamrongnawasawat, an expert in marine ecology, called for a quick clean-up of the oil spill in the sea, in order to prevent adverse impacts on the environment, which in turn could harm the local tourism industry.

"Oil spill should not be allowed to spread to the shores, or the coastal tourist destinations will be affected. It is more difficult to clean up and there will be more problems when slicks reach the shores," he said.

Puchong Sarittichaikul, director of a local marine resources preservation centre, said that with the winds coming towards Rayong's shores, he was concerned that the floating oil slick could reach the beaches. He said local fishing boats were asked to be on the lookout and inform the authorities when they see oil slick near the shores.

-- The Nation 2013-07-28

[yourauntbob]

working to keep it from the beaches, because if no one sees it then it didn't really happen

[francescoassisi]

Rayong had some very nice beaches. It is now admitted that some oil may reach them.

May problem with the reporting on this is that it all sounds like "newspeak".

"Everything is under control"

It would be nice to hear from someone other than the perpetrators - PTT - or the government news agency

[boisian]

Photo looks like oil is dispersed and not a boom in sight. Cleanup crew must me having smoko.

I recall a massive spill of W.A. - after oil was prevented from reaching beaches by a well executed wind change, the oil became waterlogged and sank some 2 weeks after spill. There was a day of speculation about the damage that may happen to the seabed, notification of intent to monitor the underwater condition, then not a word.

Edited July 28, 2013 by boisian

[BKS22]

Koh Samet going to get tarred beaches? That would be sad

[Lite Beer]

Oil spill threatens Rayong beaches

RAYONG: -- Emergency response authorities were struggling early Sunday to contain about 50,000 litres of crude oil that spilled into the sea off the eastern province of Rayong, threatening a major tourist beach.

The oil leaked from PTT Global Chemical Plc's pipeline at 6.50am Saturday, PTTGC said. A company spokesman said it was possible some of the oil could reach Mae Ramphung Beach, a popular tourist site in Muang Rayong district.

The leak location is about 20 kilometres southeast of the Map Ta Phut industrial estate.

Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand director Penchome Sae-Tang voiced her concern over the incident, saying the spill could have a serious impact on the marine environment if it is not cleaned up fast enough.

She said the company must be responsible for the clean-up operation.

Marine Department director-general Sorasak Saensombat said Saturday more than 10 ships had been sent to clean up the oil slick, which was about 800m wide and 2.5km long.

He said about 30-40% of the slick had been removed during the clean-up operations last night.

He said most of the slick should be cleaned up in the next few days and it will take no more than a week to remove all of it.

"The company must be responsible for paying for all the clean-up costs involved," Mr Sorasak said.

"The company must also take responsibility if the oil spill has an impact on the environment."

After the incident, authorities from various agencies - the navy, the Marine Department, the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, the Pollution Control Department, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department - were called in to help contain the spill.

PTTGC said the leak occurred in the pipeline at a single point mooring.

A single point mooring is an offshore-anchored buoy used as a device to transfer oil from the seabed to a tanker.

It is attached to the tanker to prevent it from drifting during the transfer process.

The company said the incident occurred as an oil tanker transferred crude oil via the buoy to supply to the company's oil refinery on the shore.

Shortly after the leak, workers rushed to close the valves of the oil pipeline immediately to stop any further leaks.

A 200-metre-long boom was placed around the floating oil to prevent the slick from spreading further.

Workers also used oil skimmers to remove the oil and put it in containers on board the ship.

Four ships were deployed to spray about 35,000 litres of oil-spill dispersants to clean up the slick on the sea surface, the company said.

The company said it also asked the regional office of Oil Spill Response Limited in Singapore to send experts to advise on how to deal with the oil leak.

The company said it had sent a team of staff to follow the situation and take samples of the affected sea water for lab tests to ensure the oil spill does not affect the marine environment and the coastal fisheries.

PTTGC executive vice-president Porntep Butniphant said the company had done its best to contain the slick, but conceded it was possible that some of the oil would reach Mae Ramphung Beach.

The First Naval Area Command based in Sattahip district in Chon Buri also sent a helicopter to patrol the affected sea area and monitor the spread of the oil slick.

Marine and Coastal Resources Department director-general Noppon Srisuk said he had ordered officials to monitor the oil spill and report possible adverse impacts on the environment, marine life and coral reefs.

Phuchong Saritdeechaikul, director of the marine and coastal resources conservation office in Rayong, said the wind was now blowing towards the shore of Rayong which increased the possibility of the oil reaching beaches there.

Pollution Control Department (PCD) director-general Wichien Jungrungruang said he had been monitoring the direction of the spill.

"The company is nowu sing oil skimmers to clean up the oil spill.

"The cleanup operation seems to be going well with the plan," Mr Wichien said.

-- Phuket News 2013-07-28

[Benmart]

Plenty of speculation and degogatory comments have already been posted, so I will limit my 2-Bahts worth to say I hope it's contained and cleaned up and doesn't further damage an already polluted ecosystem.

[Colabamumbai]

I can just see all the jet-ski renters jumping in to lend a hand.....

[Soupdragon]

I can just see all the jet-ski renters jumping in to lend a hand.....

They are already in the queue for compensation claim forms.

[Kawapete]

70 ton from a 16" pipeline van easily be underestimated quite a lot these lines can fill a ship in a day = thousands of tons

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[lostmebike]

Plenty of speculation and degogatory comments have already been posted, so I will limit my 2-Bahts worth to say I hope it's contained and cleaned up and doesn't further damage an already polluted ecosystem.

Hear hear.

Hope they get it under control quickly and limit the damage. Good luck to them.

[doremifasol]

There is one place on Samed that I consider my piece of Paradise on Earth.

You better make sure that goes untouched!!!

@#%%#%^$##@#$@#$%^^$%#@# !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[madmitch]

TAT are probably already preparing for their next "we do not believe that this will affect tourism" press release.

But 20km from Rayong is not that far and I hope that the cleanup operation goes well and that beaches and marine life are not affected

[Thai at Heart]

The sea is shallow there. Even with dispersents, currents will wash some of it up.

[HUAHIN62]

working to keep it from the beaches, because if no one sees it then it didn't really happen

No you keep it off the beaches as it has less of an environmental impact if controlled at sea. Have you ever seen an oil spill on a beach? Sea birds get coated with the oil and die, fish and shellfish dying due to the pollution. The MO for controlling oil spill are the same the world over, Google BP's oil spill in the Gulf and look at the effect it had on coastal communities when the oil washed up onshore.

[Bcgardener]

My personal experience of dealing with PTT offshore can be summed up in one sentence. A bunch of incompetent clowns. This is the same company that managed to turn an oil leak from a platform of Western Australia into a major disaster with oil ending up covering a large part of the Timor Sea. End result of this was they managed to set fire to the platform which was completely destroyed. They also had a pipeline start leaking off Songkran last year but it didn't make the headlines. It did shut down a major Chevron platform for 3 or 4 days though.
There is no hope they xxxx everything they touch.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited July 28, 2013 by metisdead
Profanity removed.

[nakhonandy]

Very worrying with strong winds from the south. Hope they can clean it up quickly.

This is all we need in an already polluted gulf.

Good luck!

[wilcopops]

It needs to be born in mind that the clean-up operation will in itself pose evironmental threats....both to the land and sea.

[GeorgeO]

I just heard that a certain flooding expert is on his way to Rayong with a fleet of boats than can push the oil out to sea.

Apparently, it's a modification of his untested plan to push flood waters out of Bangkok.

Hope he has lots of success with it...!

[wilcopops]

working to keep it from the beaches, because if no one sees it then it didn't really happen

No you keep it off the beaches as it has less of an environmental impact if controlled at sea. Have you ever seen an oil spill on a beach? Sea birds get coated with the oil and die, fish and shellfish dying due to the pollution. The MO for controlling oil spill are the same the world over, Google BP's oil spill in the Gulf and look at the effect it had on coastal communities when the oil washed up onshore.

It is well established that clean-up at sea is also detrimental - the hemicals used are detrimental and the substances that get into the food chain in droplet form in suspension will eventually end up being consumed by other animals and ultimately US! there is also fallout from the suface and a lot of stuff ends up on the sea floor - coral etc being destroyed or otherwise affected.

[Bcgardener]

Should have clarified last post it was a gas pipeline off Songhkla

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[alfagtv]

not a great track record for ptt...also responsible for montara oil spill off the coast of western australia a few years ago.

[bradflorescu]

June last year I went sailing with a friend from Pattaya to Samet. About halfway to the destination we encountered an oil spill that was stretching to the South for as far as the eye could see. We've sailed through it for about one hour at the speed of 7 knots. I don't know if it's the same oil spill as the one Bcgardener mentioned - which implies that the filth has been floating freely for three whole months - or another one - which implies that spills are more frequent than we know. I have it on video.

[wilcopops]

First it was 50k litres than it is 70k......how are we to believe any of the figures? As said above PTT are not know for their competence and I see from the photos tat they are spraying "dispersants" onto the sea, this itself could be an eco-disater - but then it is one we can't see - so it looks as if PTT are engaging in a frantic "sweep-it-under-the-mat" project.

This areas has a terrible reputation of pollution - so bad even the govt took notice and closed down 65 companies for environmental infringements. Last year there was an explosion that injured 120 people These companies are not just Thai - they are multinationals taking advantage of a situation with no real enforcement by the authorities - its the wild west of industry.

[impulse]

June last year I went sailing with a friend from Pattaya to Samet. About halfway to the destination we encountered an oil spill that was stretching to the South for as far as the eye could see. We've sailed through it for about one hour at the speed of 7 knots. I don't know if it's the same oil spill as the one Bcgardener mentioned - which implies that the filth has been floating freely for three whole months - or another one - which implies that spills are more frequent than we know. I have it on video.

Did it look anything like Post #17 here?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/644095-oil-spill-virgin-coast-koh-samui/

[PatOngo]

Whale oil beef hooked.........said the Welshman

[sandrabbit]

I live at Mae Rhumphung beach, west side of Ban Phe and you could smell the leak yesterday morning, we thought it was the IRPC plant as it's the closest plant to us. If we could smell it here, 30 something klicks from Rayong it's a bit more than 70 tonnes. The beaches here are polluted anyway, you just have to dig a little bit and the sand goes black. We have high winds at the moment which will blow it ashore sooner or later along with all the other flotsam and jetsam which gets washed up, you should see the lamps, fluorescent tubes we get which have been chucked off the squid boats.

[wasntme]

not a great track record for ptt...also responsible for montara oil spill off the coast of western australia a few years ago.

And not a great record on transparency in these issues either. Trust what you read at yuor peril

The Australian Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism estimated that the Montara oil leak could be as high as 2,000 barrels (320 m³)/day, five times the 400 barrels (64 m³)/day estimated by PTTEP Australasia.^[9] "Oil leaking 'five times faster' than thought". ABC News. 22 October 2009. Archived from the original on 5 November 2009.

Edited July 28, 2013 by wasntme

[technologybytes]

It seems like the only official concern is that it'll reach beaches and adversely effect tourism. In the end, it's all about money.

[sandrabbit]

It seems like the only official concern is that it'll reach beaches and adversely effect tourism. In the end, it's all about money.

Apart from the weekends and the Bangkok crowd it's almost dead here, even Koh Samet is quiet if the amount of foot traffic at the ferry terminals is anything to go by.