( CNN ) -- Tourists staying at Ao Phrao ( Phrao Bay ) on Thailand 's island of Koh Samet have been evacuated as the bay turned black from an oil spill over the weekend . Authorities estimated that around 5,000 liters of crude oil have washed up on the island , having leaked into the ocean from an offshore pipeline belonging to PTT Global Chemical , Thailand 's largest petrochemical producer . The total leakage is estimated at 50,000 liters . Due to its beautiful beaches and proximity to Bangkok -- the travel time from the capital is a little less than four hours by bus and then boat -- the island has long been a popular Thai weekend destination . Tourist activities on the island are largely ocean-oriented and include jet-skiing , snorkeling and banana-boating . Gallery : Oil spill on Koh Samet . Effect on tourism . It 's still unclear to what extent the spill will affect local tourism , but the damage was initially reportedly limited to one beach , at Ao Phrao . There are 14 beaches on the island . `` We 've had some hotel cancellations on Samet , '' Rayong province tourism authority director Chuchart Oncharoen told the Bangkok Post . `` Whether this has a long-term impact on the island depends on how quickly PTT cleans up the mess . '' The affected beach is on the less populated Western part of the island , where resorts have closed and tourists have been evacuated to hotels in other areas . The island is currently in its tourism low season -- the high season is from October to April . `` By far the majority of tourists who go to Koh Samet stay at resorts and hotels on the eastern side of the island , '' Thailand travel blogger Richard Barrow told CNN . Gallery : Oil spill on Koh Samet . Spill 'worse than thought ' However , an opposition MP has suggested the damage from the spill may be worse than first thought , reports Australia 's ABC . `` If that ( 50,000 litres ) was the real amount , they should have already eliminated it -- they should have solved the problem fast enough before it reached Samet island , '' said Sathit Pitutacha , from Thailand 's Democrat Party . The environmental group Greenpeace also called the spill `` massive , '' according to the ABC , and called upon the Thai government to end oil exploration in the Gulf of Thailand . Some travelers to Phrao Bay have already posted about the unexpected change in their itineraries . `` The oil completely covered the beach when we woke up in the morning , '' wrote Tripadvisor reviewer MatJens about his curtailed stay at Lima Coco resort , one of the popular hotels in the area that has been closed . `` We rebooked to a hotel on Ko Chang and the personnel at Lima Coco were very helpful getting us there . We also got a voucher covering the days we paid in advance , '' wrote MatJens on Monday . A statement from PTT Global Chemical said the company had deployed booms to contain the oil as well as oil spill dispersant . It added that the Thai navy and approximately 300 workers from PTT Global Chemical are continuing to clean up the area .
Approximately 5,000 of the beaches on Thailand 's Koh Samet island has turned black from weekend 's oil spill . Koh Samet is a popular Thai Saturday getaway destination . Approximately 5,000 liters of oil have washed up on the island . Spill `` may be worse than first thought , '' says opposition MP , Koh Samet .