Star Petroleum struggling to seal oil pipe as Rayong feels impact of January leak
Star Petroleum Refining (SPRC) is still struggling to seal two leaks in its undersea pipeline off Rayong, 49 days after it spewed more than 40,000 litres of oil into the Gulf of Thailand on January 25.
Another 5,000 litres of oil was released on February 10 during botched efforts to move the pipe.
Initial reports indicated that as much as 400,000 litres of oil may have leaked into the sea.
The pipeline is located 25-30 metres beneath the surface, 20 kilometres off Mae Ram Phueng Beach, which was blackened when the slick from the oil leak reached shore in January.
On Sunday, SPRC released further details of its mission to plug the pipe and prevent further spills. In a statement, the company said its workers were currently attempting to wrap the first leak on the top of the undersea pipe.
Fishermen and local entrepreneurs say fallout from the oil spill is still damaging their business.
A 50-year-old Rayong rubber-ring rental operator said the incident was still affecting her business as visitors were not allowed to play in the sea. She said her monthly income had halved, from Bt10,000 before the spill to Bt5,000 now.
The twin disasters triggered a clean-up operation in which more than 85,000 litres of chemical dispersant were used in a desperate effort to limit damage to coral reefs and fish stocks. That amount of dispersant would reportedly be enough to clean up at least 800,000 litres of oil.