Koh Samet's Ao Phrao to reopen on Friday after oil spill

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AFTERMATH
Ao Phrao to reopen on Friday after oil spill
Suriyan Panyawai
The Nation



Seawater off Samet has recovered sufficiently: govt

BANGKOK: -- KOH SAMET'S Ao Phrao, hit by an oil spill several months ago, will officially reopen to tourists this Friday.

Seawater-quality tests have confirmed that the bay is now ready for visitors to enjoy safely. Petroleum hydrocarbon, for example, has dropped to less than 1 microgram per litre of seawater, and mercury has plunged below 0.1mcg/l.

"The seawater started to return to normal at the end of September," Udom Kraiwatnussorn said yesterday in his capacity as secretary to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Vichet Kasemthongsri.

An estimated 50,000 litres of crude oil leaked from an offshore pipe owned by PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) on July 27 off the coast of Rayong province. Because the oil spill hit Ao Phrao hard, it has been closed to the public since July 29. Ao Phrao is a part of Khao Laem Ya-Mu Ko Samet National Park.

During the past few months, extensive clean-up operations have taken place and the oil spill's environmental impacts have been closely monitored.

Chote Trachu, permanent secretary of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, yesterday announced that the ecological system around Ao Phrao was clearly recovering.

"We have found more ghost crabs and other animals on the beach now," he said, adding that affected coral reefs also showed signs of improving.

Chote said his ministry thus resolved that Ao Phrao should reopen to tourists from November 1 onwards.

However, he said monitoring of the oil spill's impacts on marine and coastal ecology would continue for at least one more year. An environmental-rehabilitation plan has also been prepared for PTTGC to follow.

"The plan, for example, covers projects to expand corals, to plant artificial reefs, and to improve Samet Island's wastewater-management system," he said.

Pinsak Suraswadi, a senior official at the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, said the plan would require a budget of Bt166 million. "We will charge PTTGC for that," he said.

A PTTGC executive yesterday disclosed that it had already paid more than Bt800 million in expenses and compensation related to the oil spill.

To date, PTTGC has paid more than 5,000 small-scale fishermen in Rayong after they reported that the spill had badly affected their livelihoods.


-- The Nation 2013-10-29

[DocN]

Aha!

[Loles]

PTT

[Katipo]

I remember when I went to the 1st 'official reopening' 3 weeks after the oil spill. There was live music, free drinks and food etc. I guess that didn't work out so well.

Let's hope the beach is really clean and ready this time.

[Barney R]

Who cares Koh Samet is one large rubbish heap . Over priced , unfriendly service from mainly foreign workers , touts everywhere ,terrible roads just another example of greed and lack of planning . It was great about 8 years ago but will never go back

[patayayaya]

when they say everything is ok and back to normal .... thats when you know its not

Edited October 29, 2013 by patayayaya

[frankold]

That's been a long 24hrs...