Thailand's Pollution Control Department said 180,000 – 200,000 liters of crude oil from a pipeline spill south of the city of Rayong is expected to wash up on beaches in the Khao Laem Ya–Mu Koh Samet Marine National Park. Beaches in the tourist island of Koh Samed are also expected to be badly hit. The Island, which is a popular weekend beach getaway for Bangkok residents, has been battered by hardships arising from Covid-19 and now faces the oil leak disaster at a delicate time when many locations in Thailand are re-opening fully to tourism.