As efforts to save the seas off Rayong continue following an undersea pipeline leak near Map Ta Phut, public scepticism is growing about the kind of preventive measures and crisis management the company, Star Petroleum Refining Co (SPRC), has in place -- as well as in regard to the response from state authorities.
Despite the fact the impact on marine ecology has yet to be gauged, several state agencies have tried to downplay this, insisting the oil leak that began on Jan 25 and has continued since is not as serious as a similar mishap in 2013 when a large slick hit Koh Samet, a major tourist attraction in this eastern province. At that time, delays to the clean-up worsened the problem.
