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News Forum - Return of the tar balls on Phuket’s northern beaches

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Thaiger

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The tar balls are back. During a scheduled beach clean yesterday along Phuket’s north-coast Nai Yang Beach, volunteers noticed the return of the mysterious tar balls that were washing up along the coast in the weeks before Phuket’s Sandbox started on July 1. Michelle from Sustainable Mai Khao Foundation contacted The Thaiger this morning with the news of the return of the tar balls. She says the only way to remove them is to pick them up with protective gloves, squash them all together in clumps and then dispose them in plastic bags. “If you step on one of the […]

The story Return of the tar balls on Phuket’s northern beaches as seen on Thaiger News.

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Paulw Collaborator

Paulw

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Obviously oil waste being dumped by either vessels at sea or possibly countries west of Phuket so those being Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh or Myanmar. I guess if you studied the ocean currents you would have a more accurate origin. Is there a substantial Thai fishing fleet operating in those waters west of Phuket, Thai fisheries should be able to answer that??

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KaptainRob Grand Master

KaptainRob

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This will be coming from the wreck off Sri Lanka.  Ship sank in June and likely more sections have broken up releasing crude oil and/or severe weather has caused it to be washed out.

IMO fishing boats pumping contaminated bilge water won't cause tar-like residue in such large volume.

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Wasminbe Apprentice

Wasminbe

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Why are they speculating whether it's from a spill, or a refined product that was dumped out of an engine?

Get a sample into a lab for analysis and they will be able to tell right quick, although IMO it looks more like crude oil from a spill, not a refined product that would be drained out of a fishing boat engine.-Refined products do not have these characteristics.

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Guest1 Grand Master

Guest1

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A thin layer of oil forms on the surface and the lightest elements evaporate over time, while others dissolve into water 

A couple of days ago, I was with friends up to Big Buddha in the morning. And it seemed, with the right angle of the sun, and the clouds opening, there were reflections of big areas of different coloured water in the sea. My guess: with no diveboats passing by, to the islands, all others are not afraid to clean there tanks. 

Also it seems, the bigger cargo ships are passing by a bit closer, as they did before. 

 

 

Guest1 Grand Master

Guest1

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2 hours ago, Wasminbe said:

Why are they speculating whether it's from a spill, or a refined product that was dumped out of an engine?

Get a sample into a lab for analysis and they will be able to tell right quick, although IMO it looks more like crude oil from a spill, not a refined product that would be drained out of a fishing boat engine.-Refined products do not have these characteristics.

No, but the heavy stuff (HFO) in the bigger cargo ships ist that alike.. 

KaptainRob Grand Master

KaptainRob

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1 hour ago, Guest1 said:

A couple of days ago, I was with friends up to Big Buddha in the morning. And it seemed, with the right angle of the sun, and the clouds opening, there were reflections of big areas of different coloured water in the sea. My guess: with no diveboats passing by, to the islands, all others are not afraid to clean there tanks. 

I think you'll find it's coral spawn you saw.  Various coloured spawn looking like rivers on the surface of the ocean at this time of year often gets confused with oil a diesel oil spill or effluent up close due the stench.  It's another good indicator that currents are sweeping up into the Andaman from the west and turning southward past Phuket.

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Malc-Thai Veteran

Malc-Thai

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10 minutes ago, KaptainRob said:

I think you'll find it's coral spawn you saw.  Various coloured spawn looking like rivers on the surface of the ocean at this time of year often gets confused with oil a diesel oil spill or effluent up close due the stench.  It's another good indicator that currents are sweeping up into the Andaman from the west and turning southward past Phuket.

Patong beach and kata beach yesterday had great big yellow areas in the sea and surf by the Shore..  always wondered what that was most years

KaptainRob Grand Master

KaptainRob

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34 minutes ago, Malc-Thai said:

Patong beach and kata beach yesterday had great big yellow areas in the sea and surf by the Shore..  always wondered what that was most years

It can be a rainbow of colours.  Check out the photos here > https://marinesavers.com/2013/03/annual-coral-spawning/

 

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Guest1 Grand Master

Guest1

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5 hours ago, Malc-Thai said:

Patong beach and kata beach yesterday had great big yellow areas in the sea and surf by the Shore..  always wondered what that was most years

I think that this is "Phaeocystis"

In Kata it is only on a small part in the middle, where the current comes IN to the bay, I think.

Almost in the middle, isn't that right? I think that there was, some years ago, in the old Phuket outlet, which part of it is now in Thaiger, was that once questioned and answered.

But my google is not working well, it seems. Or just my search wording is bad. 

 

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Malc-Thai Veteran

Malc-Thai

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9 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

I think that this is "Phaeocystis"

In Kata it is only on a small part in the middle, where the current comes IN to the bay, I think.

Almost in the middle, isn't that right? I think that there was, some years ago, in the old Phuket outlet, which part of it is now in Thaiger, was that once questioned and answered.

But my google is not working well, it seems. Or just my search wording is bad. 

'Phaeocystis' does make more sense as the heavy rain we have had leaches nutrients in to the sea and around those area's there seems to be the blooms.. especially noticeable after rain in patong Bay from one end of the beach where the river is always looks darker water from the river 

yes was in the middle and to the left at kata

Edited by Malc-Thai

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