The governor of a province in eastern Thailand on Saturday declared a state of emergency after an oil slick washed up on a sand beach, shutting down restaurants and shops in a setback for the COVID-19 pandemic-hit tourism industry.
About 20 to 50 tonnes of oil are estimated to have leaked in the Gulf of Thailand on Tuesday night. It came from an undersea hose used to load tankers at an offshore mooring point owned by Star Petroleum Refining.
The leak was stopped within hours, the company said, but efforts to keep an oil slick from reaching the Mae Ramphueng beach in