Vice Governor Thanyawat inspected the beach yesterday along with senior officers from the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, also located on Cape Panwa, on Phuket’s southeast coast.
Joining the inspection team were officers from Wichit Municipality and the Phuket Marine Office.
“If we find that any private operators caused this oil spill to contaminate the sea, the province will levy the ‘highest legal case’ against them, because oil spills affect marine life and degrade our natural resources,” Vice Governor Thanyawat said.
Phuket Marine Office Acting Chief Wiwat Chitchertwong reported that his officers will conduct checks on ships in the area.
Most of the oil spill was cleaned up late yesterday afternoon through a joint effort by marine officers, personnel from the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command and staff from nearby hotels.
A net was set in place to contain the oil in the water immediately off the beach to make sure it could be removed safely, Mr Wiwat explained.
“The cleanup yesterday took about two hours. The contaminated sand was bagged and removed,” he said.
“The beach itself is clean but some of the oil was mixed with the coastal water after high tide returned, and so there is still some oil in the water and on rocks in the area,” Mr Wiwat added.
“The cleanup continues today to remove the rest that we can find,” he said.