Thai fishing crews fear long road to recovery after oil spill

Thai fishing crews fear long road to recovery after oil spill

AFP/ Rayong

The nightly armada of bobbing green lights from squid boats has all but disappeared near the site of an oil spill in the Gulf of Thailand, as devastated local crews brace for lost income and damaged fish stocks. The Thai navy is scrambling to clean up last week’s spill from a pipeline that leaked at least 60 tonnes of crude oil 20 kilometres (12 miles) off the coast of Rayong province.

Authorities have declared Mae Ram Phueng Beach a disaster zone and closed it to swimmers as crews in yellow plastic protective suits begin the clean-up. Rayong resorts and seafood restaurants say the spill is a “nail in the coffin” for their businesses after the tourism industry’s continued pandemic downturn. For long-time fishermen who have been asked to halt their catches for at least a month in exchange for emergency payments, there is a feeling of deja vu.

They recall the long road to environmental and economic recovery after another pipeline leak in the same area in 2013. Initial compensation for that accident was around $900, but fisherman Tuem 46, says it is no substitute for regular work. “I don’t want compensation. I want a healthy sea that