News Forum - Foreigners complain they can’t swim at Koh Samui beach due to smelly oil spill

[Thaiger]

French and German tourists complained that a smelly oil spill prevented them from swimming at Maenam Beach yesterday in Koh Samui, Surat Thani province, southern Thailand. A German man told reporters that he went to the beach to sunbathe and play in the water. But when he tried to go swimming, he noticed a foul …

The story Foreigners complain they can’t swim at Koh Samui beach due to smelly oil spill as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Aussieroaming]

More tourists ruining the good name of Thailand Tourism.

[HolyCowCm]

Bummer. Spend a bunch of money in order to travel to be at a nice place with nice beach and water, and turns out it is nothing better than a toxic cesspool so you swim in the hotel's pool if they have one. 

[KaptainRob]

The appearance of "oil" may be coral spawn which has a rancid smell.  Corals spawn in the eastern gulf approx 10 days following a March full moon.

I hope it's not oil.

[Ramanathan.P]

When you travel for vacation don't go with high expectations as if you will be treated as a King. Just be normal and accept the normal way of life in that country when you are there. Things happen and are sometimes beyond the control of situation. Why you never complain about covid-19 when the entire world is at stand still. At that time you were confined to your cubicle. Why never scream? Just try to accept things in a normal way and spend your days happily when you are around. No one knows what will happen tomorrow including you. 

[HolyCowCm]

3 minutes ago, Ramanathan.P said:

When you travel for vacation don't go with high expectations as if you will be treated as a King. Just be normal and accept the normal way of life in that country when you are there. Things happen and are sometimes beyond the control of situation. Why you never complain about covid-19 when the entire world is at stand still. At that time you were confined to your cubicle. Why never scream? Just try to accept things in a normal way and spend your days happily when you are around. No one knows what will happen tomorrow including you. 

That is why alcohol is so nice sometimes. It soothes the situation. 

[avantgarde_a_clue]

30 minutes ago, Ramanathan.P said:

When you travel for vacation don't go with high expectations as if you will be treated as a King. Just be normal and accept the normal way of life in that country when you are there. Things happen and are sometimes beyond the control of situation. Why you never complain about covid-19 when the entire world is at stand still. At that time you were confined to your cubicle. Why never scream? Just try to accept things in a normal way and spend your days happily when you are around. No one knows what will happen tomorrow including you. 

Seeing as you are apparently in Malaysia, go for a swim in Port Klang and get back to us

[Grumpish]

1 hour ago, KaptainRob said:

The appearance of "oil" may be coral spawn which has a rancid smell.  Corals spawn in the eastern gulf approx 10 days following a March full moon.

I hope it's not oil.

Could also be a ship flushed its ballast tanks.

[avantgarde_a_clue]

18 minutes ago, Grumpish said:

Could also be a ship flushed its ballast tanks.

Could be a sunken TH navy Corvette 

[KaptainRob]

19 minutes ago, Grumpish said:

Could also be a ship flushed its ballast tanks.

Possible.  The rancid smell fits ballast water or coral spawn. 

A straight out oil spill is usually quite discernable by the eye and smells of fuel oil.

[Ramanathan.P]

2 hours ago, avantgarde_a_clue said:

Seeing as you are apparently in Malaysia, go for a swim in Port Klang and get back to us

Port Klang...the name itself is a port....not a swimming beach

[Marc26]

3 hours ago, KaptainRob said:

Possible.  The rancid smell fits ballast water or coral spawn. 

A straight out oil spill is usually quite discernable by the eye and smells of fuel oil.

So my last day on Koh Lanta was the worst smell I have ever experienced at a beach, the whole island smelt

 

And the best I can describe it, is that it smelt like a baby's diaper

 

I wonder what that would be???

[avantgarde_a_clue]

2 hours ago, Ramanathan.P said:

Port Klang...the name itself is a port....not a swimming beach

You are limiting your imagination, most unlike memorable beings, Chairman Mao swam the river and people are still talking about, it was not a swimming beach

[Skip]

 The ship was carrying 400,000 barrels of crude oil when the explosion happened during routine maintenance...

routine maintenance???  Right...

[Haole.TH]

Great for tourism ... just like the air quality ... the high road deaths ...

Would be nice if someone in the Thai Gov came out with a statement to what the smell is from.  But then they might lie ... 

[Jbc]

Leah:

This local news article from last night said port officials determined the foul smell and “stains” reported by foreign tourists at the beach were caused by a plankton bloom, not oil: https://www.naewna.com/local/719715.

Here’s another that says the same thing: https://www.dailynews.co.th/news/2139216/.

Any chance you can update your story? 

 

 

 

 

[KaptainRob]

13 minutes ago, Jbc said:

Leah:

This local news article from last night said port officials determined the foul smell and “stains” reported by foreign tourists at the beach were caused by a plankton bloom, not oil: https://www.naewna.com/local/719715.

Here’s another that says the same thing: https://www.dailynews.co.th/news/2139216/.

Any chance you can update your story? 

TN may not update, but you've confirmed my previous advice.  Thanks.

NB: Coral spawn is  very common, not plankton bloom in salt water. more a lake or pond/still water phenomena.

[Grumpish]

21 minutes ago, KaptainRob said:

TN may not update, but you've confirmed my previous advice.  Thanks.

NB: Coral spawn is  very common, not plankton bloom in salt water. more a lake or pond/still water phenomena.

Plankton bloom is very much a saltwater phenomena as well, and there are plenty of species - whale sharks for example - whose seasonal migration pattern is determined by it. Possibly what they meant was an algal bloom, these are much less common and often a symptom of something being not right, pollution caused by excess agricultural runoff is a typical cause.

[KaptainRob]

6 minutes ago, Grumpish said:

Plankton bloom is very much a saltwater phenomena as well, and there are plenty of species - whale sharks for example - whose seasonal migration pattern is determined by it. Possibly what they meant was an algal bloom, these are much less common and often a symptom of something being not right, pollution caused by excess agricultural runoff is a typical cause.

Correct. Plankton types include algae and I meant algae bloom as a still water phenomena.  In salt water it's less common due to wind and wave action which breaks it up - in lakes it can be multi colored depending on the cause.  Run-off from farming in Australia (FNQ especially) can cause algae blooms in sheltered coastal basins but is usually green and clumped, totally different to coral spawn.    

Coral spawn is not a plankton, it's the reproduction product ejected by live corals and when the majority dies off it stinks like crap and looks like brown-yellow oil and can cover many 'acres' of ocean water.