PHUKET: Authorities are leading the effort to clean up an oil slick, which has washed up on the shore of Koh Racha Yai off the coast of Muang district.
Officials at the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre's Region 3 were alerted to the oil slick on Patok and Siam beaches on Koh Racha Yai in tambon Rawai.
The navy has dispatched coastal patrol personnel to work on the clean-up operation.
Capt Krit Kluebmas, deputy director of the centre's Phuket division, said help arrived at Koh Racha Yai at around 6.30am on Monday.
The team is racing against time as it fears the slick, which solidified during the night, might liquify again and cling to the sand if exposed to the heat of the sun, making it harder to remove.
Capt Krit said that before the team arrived on the island, the hotel operators and local residents had already cleared up some of the oil.
By the evening of Monday, around 90% of the slick had been cleared from the beaches.
However, the division's deputy director said he was unsure if more oil from the spill would wash ashore.
The centre, along with related agencies, including the natural resources and Phuket marine offices, planned to file a complaint with Chalong police once whoever was responsible for the slick has been identified.
The problem is likely to have been caused by a tanker carelessly releasing water it used for cleaning up its oil storage compartment, which then became tainted with oil, into the sea.
The damage to the marine environment around Koh Racha Yai, which has drawn many visitors to its dive sites and beaches, is immeasurable, he said.
A sea turtle has reportedly died after being covered in oil.
Theerapong Thaidaeng, deputy mayor of tambon Rawai municipality, said about a tonne of the slick was removed from the beaches on Monday, part of which was disposed of by dumping it in a sand pit.
Apiromrudee Mahawongsanant, a tourism operator on Koh Racha Yai, said some swimmers were upset after being caught in the oil.
"It's the first time in 30 years of doing business here that I have come across a slick," he said.