I don't think people here are anti Thai just some people here seem to have a superiority complex over our hosts and most posts perceive Thais to be lazy incompetent etc etc  

Why don't you PM a mod to close all the oil spill threads? The PTT guy in charge of the mess/cleanup said it would all be cleaned up by yesterday morning.

What is it about some TV members that they can't wait to slag the Thais off when a disaster happens?

Here are the facts : There has been a oil spill, the government has not tried to cover this up and is now doing the right thing in asking for help yet some TV members cannot wait to stick the knife in about incompetence/corruption/mismanagement etc etc

Honestly why do you bother? These disasters happen all over the world but some people on here think they only happen in Thailand judging by the comments on TV when there is a Train/Bus crash disaster etc

You lot make me sick with your slagging off of Thais. why do you live here when all you do is write stupid unhelpful posts on TV and no doubt other forums about how incompetent Thais are?

Firstly, I hope you have recovered from puking.

TVF is used for discussion, praise and criticism.

It is pretty hard to cover up an oil spill the size of Samet island. The company ( a state owned corporation) was less than forthright initially with regard to the magnitude of the leakage and only several days later did the government request outside (foreign) assistance. The main body of the slick is still to be dealt with and threatens the mainland east of Ban Phe.

Frankly I don't believe most TVF members are any more critical of Thais than they would be of their native countries' governments and their incompetencies..

Incompetency is not a Thai trait but justifiably draws criticism when people who make outrageous statements expect the public to believe all is well.

eg. The rice pledging scam. A gargantuan fail with lies from the start.

Flood prevention and mitigation program. More lies and empty promises.

Personally, I believe Ao Phrao beach will be restored by this time next week with not a drop of oil or tar in sight. The expert Thais will have everything under control just like they said.

Ain't Thailand wonderful?.

It took a catastrophe to make Thais admit that they are ill equipped to handle this emergency.

Indeed! It is their cash cow and with this event the milk will run out dry.

Interesting that the government NEVER sought the help to devise an effective flood control similar to the one the Khmer built and successfully used in the 9th and 10 centuries in their empire.

During the 2011 flood the Dutch offered their assistance. The Japanese Ambassador on live TV also prompted the administration to seek the help of the preeminent country that has successfully not only controlled floods but also reclaimed land from the sea: The Netherlands.

Hubris and their overinflated image they have of themselves made them ignore the plea and offer.

Imagine Thais accepting the fact that they do not know how to handle a flood (for eons periodically happening) in their own country: such a tremendous loss of face!

So, then, the government in its finite expertise to tackle the problem, resorted to flood and ruin certain areas and save the symbol and seat of Thai power: central Bangkok. Where was the empathy and caring for their own countrymen?

Now it is their revenue in peril and also as important, the possibility that they will not be destination number 1 in the world.

At the risk of sounding uncaring I say: let them eat Somtam!

Let them seek help from other nations and companies and pay the asking price for such help.

But in the Thai mentality, that is a dwindling possibility that it will happen. To pay for it, that is. Probably, the Thai government, playing the victim role to a T will ask for friendly, humanitarian free help... For free!

It will become the duty of other countries to save the Thai beaches so that everything can go back to "normal". Normal? Scams, double or triple pricing, tuk-tuk drivers extorting tourists, etc.

Lastly, I think that Thais are not even aware that the contamination that will take place in the marine food chain can have disastrous consequences to humans. Unlikely that the government will declare that area off limits until there is an in depth study by international experts to determine the severity of the contamination and extant pollution.

I sincerely hope that the country will learn a hard lesson this time: to prepare for the imponderables of life.

Sadly I admit, I am not holding my breath.

I see from looking elsewhere that Supeerapat Jongpanich, deputy governor of Rayong, said the oily film had reached the Rayong mainland.

Note that this is not the same black sludge that has hit the island but a thin film of oil.

However it can still have bad to very bad consequences for marine life and the people in the area.

At the risk of sounding uncaring I say: let them eat Somtam!
Let them seek help from other nations and companies and pay the asking price for such help.
But in the Thai mentality, that is a dwindling possibility that it will happen. To pay for it, that is. Probably, the Thai government, playing the victim role to a T will ask for friendly, humanitarian free help... For free!
It will become the duty of other countries to save the Thai beaches so that everything can go back to "normal". Normal? Scams, double or triple pricing, tuk-tuk drivers extorting tourists, etc.

I sincerely hope that the country will learn a hard lesson this time: to prepare for the imponderables of life.
Sadly I admit, I am not holding my breath.

This.

I said it here days ago. They should not have waited this long to react to the situation; This is where your pride gets you. The Thai government should have known not to trust the oil company to take care of the problem; because oil companies just don't care. This has happened enough times around the world for governments not to get it. I don't think the Thai's realize the long term impact of of this, as the government talks about clean up in terms of days (more like years). Further, Thailand should stop worrying about tourism on Koh Samet as they have much bigger problems here. The tourists know better (they're gone); unlike the uneducated locals who are being told by their own government to go directly to PTT with no representation. They will settle for peanuts from the oil giant, because they don't know any better. Thailand should be appointing the residents and country high priced foreign lawyers to take care of their issues (charge PTT for that too). They should also be bringing in top environmentalists. What is their plan for all that bagged waste? The government has no idea of how to take care of this, as demonstrated during the flood. PTT must be relieved that they're dealing with Thailand..........

They are too nationalistic to ask for farang help. However, the one foreign help they will use is:

Is there any way to volunteer to help the cleanup ?

yes no one of PTT or the gov

could have ever imagined an oil spill or ANY OTHER disaster could happen to thailand

and thanks to their great immigration laws, you cannot even go help with the cleanup, for free, without being deported for working illegaly

Wow, that's one for the record books . . . Thai's asking foreigners for help! A real first.

Just shows that the true situation is more desperate than we know.

The fact that the oil spill occurred is indeed a very sad event as Samet is a very nice island, but it comes as no surprise.. it is is simply another example of Thais always knowing best and not prepared to accept views from the outside..

Is there any way to volunteer to help the cleanup ?

During the tsunami disaster the police were checking if the volunteer helpers had work permits.

You are prpbably quite welcome to go there and offer to help but be prepared to be ignored or rejected.

you know what is sad, there are people on this forum who think this will be fixed in 90 day. like no trace! This will be in your seafood giving you cancer for years to come. there is no "fixing" this. i saw the video, there were 6 men on the beach in jumpsuits with SPOONS! People are just in shock and denial at this stage. Wait till all the oil in the satellite photo hits the beaches. and who cares about the tourists. the beach will still be destroyed even if it is a stretch of beach no one goes to. this is a total disaster.

90 days?

Yingluck's government and PTT said it'll be fixed today.

the Thai Government and PTT say that the spill on Koh Samet will be cleaned up by this coming Thursday

http://www.khonkaen.ws/koh-samet-oil-spill-lies-continue-to-flow

Here are the facts : There has been a oil spill, the government has not tried to cover this up

*forum bashing tripe snipped*

Fact:

They tried to cover it up from the very beginning.

The spill happened Saturday.... and in the crucial first 48 hours, it was denied, downplayed, and hidden.

It wasn't until Monday that they finally admitted there was a spill and, even then, lied about its scope and severity.

Is there any way to volunteer to help the cleanup ?

During the tsunami disaster the police were checking if the volunteer helpers had work permits.

You are prpbably quite welcome to go there and offer to help but be prepared to be ignored or rejected.

Surely if the government wanted volunteers they should look no further than all their employees who have been transferred to inactive posts. They might even be glad of a break from the boredom of doing nothing all day.

Wow, that's one for the record books . . . Thai's asking foreigners for help! A real first.

Just shows that the true situation is more desperate than we know.

You have it all wrong. He wants to buy lots and lots of foreign equipment and write nice big contracts with companies to clean it up.

For a fee of course.

Why did it take almost a week to figure this out? Did people think this oil spill was just going to 'go away'? By denying the magnitude of the problem and dragging their feet on soliciting aid, they've only succeeded in making it worse. "Mai pen rai" doesn't work for stuff like this, folks.

Western countries should come and help them, then charge them double or triple what they would charge another western country.

Listen the Western countries should pay Thailand as they can learn a lot clean up the oil. Are you against paying for Education

Here are the facts : There has been a oil spill, the government has not tried to cover this up

*forum bashing tripe snipped*

Fact:

They tried to cover it up from the very beginning.

The spill happened Saturday.... and in the crucial first 48 hours, it was denied, downplayed, and hidden.

It wasn't until Monday that they finally admitted there was a spill and, even then, lied about its scope and severity.

You beat me to it travelers

Wow, that's one for the record books . . . Thai's asking foreigners for help! A real first.

Yes, but it's taken them how long? Had they acknowledged right from the start that they lacked the capability to deal with the situation, they could have dealt with much of it out at sea, as opposed to now trying to deal with the landfall problem......