Beijing — The Iranian oil tanker Sanchi sank into the East China Sea on Sunday afternoon after a blast, causing a "serious" oil spill that covered 10km², state television reported, citing China’s State Oceanic Administration.

The oil from the tanker was still burning, China Central Television reported on Sunday. A State Oceanic Administration official reached by phone said the administration is collecting data from the spill area, and the administration said on its website that the spill will have an impact on the environment. All 32 crew members on board the vessel that had been burning for a week were presumed dead, said an Iranian official on Sunday.

The Sanchi was ferrying almost 1-million barrels of condensate — a highly flammable hydrocarbon liquid that is used in petrochemical production — when it collided with bulk carrier CF Crystal off the coast of Shanghai on January 6.

If all the condensate leaked into the sea instead of burning off, the spill would be one of the biggest from a ship over the past five decades. The cargo size of about 150,000 metric tons aboard the Sanchi exceeds the 35,000 tons of crude that the Exxon Valdez spilled near Alaska — the biggest such incident in US history. That 1989 spill led to the destruction of thousands of marine fauna and long-term environmental damage. </s> BEIJING -- The fire from a sunken Iranian tanker ship in the East China Sea has burned out, a Chinese transport ministry spokesman said Monday, although concerns remain about possible major pollution to the sea bed and surrounding waters.

The spokesman, who identified himself only by his surname, Zhao, said the fire ceased around noon. Earlier footage showed huge clouds of thick smoke rising from the oil slick that had been burning for more than a week.

Just three bodies from the tanker Sanchi's crew of 32, composed of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, have been recovered.

The cause of the Jan. 6 collision between the Sanchi and the Chinese freighter CF Crystal, which happened 160 miles east of Shanghai, remains unclear. All 21 crewmembers aboard the freighter were reported safe.

Rescuers boarded the Sanchi on Saturday morning to recover two bodies, but a large explosion shook the ship around noon on Sunday and it sank within hours. High temperatures had prevented rescuers from entering the crew quarters. Another body was recovered from the water earlier last week.

The ship was carrying a type of hydrocarbon liquid known as natural gas condensate and left a 3.8-square-mile area contaminated with oil, according to Chinese authorities. Condensate is highly toxic but readily evaporates or burns off in a fire. If trapped underwater, however, it could seriously harm the marine environment, while the ship's fuel source also poses a major threat.

The ship's voice data recorder, which functions like a "black box" on aircraft, was reportedly recovered on Saturday, possibly helping shed light on how the collision and resulting fire occurred.

Zhao, who is deputy head of the ministry's press office, said new photos and video footage showed the fire had gone out entirely and said an investigation into the disaster would be conducted according to the "strictest international standards."

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said rescue operations had been converted at noon to a search-and-recovery effort. Two ships were on the scene spraying foam detergents to dissolve oil remaining on the surface.

Ma Jun, director of the private Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing, said the degree of environmental damage caused by the disaster depends on how much fuel was left in the tanker and the direction of winds and currents.

"The key issue is how much exactly the condensate oil has been left after all the burning and explosion, and how much of that sank together to the bottom of the sea," Ma said. "We need to keep an eye to prevent (toxins) being transferred to the fishing ground."

The disaster has transfixed an Iran still reeling from days of protests and unrest that swept the country at the start of the year.

Families of the sailors wept and screamed at the headquarters of the National Iranian Tanker Co. in Tehran, the company that owns the Sanchi. Some needed to be taken by ambulance to nearby hospitals as they were so overwhelmed by the news.

State TV earlier quoted Mahmoud Rastad, the chief of Iran's maritime agency, as saying: "There is no hope of finding survivors among the (missing) 29 members of the crew."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei both expressed their condolences, with Rouhani calling on relevant government agencies to investigate the tragedy and take any necessary legal measures. The government also announced Monday as a nationwide day of public mourning over the disaster.

Chinese officials blamed poor weather for complicating their rescue efforts. Thirteen ships, including one from South Korea and two from Japan, had joined in the rescue and cleanup effort.

The Panamanian-flagged, 85,462-ton tanker has operated under five different names since it was built in 2008, according to the U.N.-run International Maritime Organization and the industry website Maritime Traffic.

It's the second collision for a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Co. in less than a year and a half. In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both ships but causing no injuries or oil spill. </s> The front section of an Iranian oil tanker that has been on fire for days off the east China coast has exploded, forcing rescue boats searching for 31 missing sailors to retreat and sparking environmental concerns.

Thirty-two crew members, including 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, went missing after the tanker carrying 136,000 tonnes of oil condensate from Iran to South Korea collided with a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter and caught fire on Saturday in waters about 160 sea miles east of the Yangtze River’s estuary.

Since then, the Panama-registered tanker Sanchi has been ablaze and drifting in the waters between Shanghai and southern Japan.

So far, no survivors from the tanker have been found and only one body has been recovered. All 21 crew members aboard the Chinese ship were rescued.

The front section of the tanker exploded on Wednesday.

“Vessels at the scene have to stop putting out the fire and withdraw back to (a safe distance),” China’s ministry of transport said. “The fire extinguishing operation did not achieve the desired effect,” it said.

China’s largest patrol ship Haixun 01 is fighting the fire after the explosion while organising other vessels to move away, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, Japanese sea police arrived at the scene an hour before the explosion and established contact with Haixun 01.

China’s Ministry of Foreign affairs said on Wednesday that 12 vessels were searching for the missing sailors in the tanker’s vicinity before the explosion, and efforts were continuing to clean up any spilled light crude.

Since the crash, the tanker has been billowing thick plumes of black smoke. Officials worry that the explosion might sink the ship, releasing its 1 million barrels of oil into the water.

The resulting spill would be about three times as big as the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989, one of the worst environmental disasters in history.

“For now, burning might be good for consuming the leaked oil, but there will be some remaining for which disposal will be difficult,” Lin Boqiang, director of the China Centre for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times.

Sanchi was carrying 1.36 lakh tons of condensate oil when it collided with CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter in waters about 160 nautical miles east of the Yangtze River estuary.

Experts are especially worried because the ship is carrying condensate, an ultralight version of crude oil. Condensate is highly toxic and even more combustible than regular crude oil. It also is nearly colourless and odourless, which makes it difficult to detect.

Oil is usually not degradable, meaning the damage to the ocean would be long-term, he said.

Zhao Ruxiang, an expert with China’s Yantai Oil Spill Response Technical Centre, was quoted by the ministry as saying that a simulation test showed condensate oil in the water can evaporate so quickly that it will leave little residue - less than 1 percent after five hours.

“It is toxic and volatile when exposed to air,” Zhao said. </s> An Iranian oil tanker burning for more than a week in the East China Sea exploded and sank on Sunday, Chinese state television reported.

The Sanchi erupted into flames after colliding with a Hong Kong-registered freighter on January 6, CCTV reported.

China’s transport ministry said the tanker “suddenly exploded” around noon on Sunday and was quickly engulfed in fire, with the smoke and flames rising as high 1km (3,300 feet).

An Iranian official also said on Sunday there was no chance of finding alive any of the tanker’s 32 crew members.

Two bodies recovered from oil tanker ablaze in East China Sea

“There is no hope of finding survivors among the members of the crew,” Mohammad Rastad, spokesman for the Iranian rescue team sent to Shanghai, told Iran’s state broadcaster.

The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil from Iran, collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai.

It remains unclear if there has been a significant oil leak into the sea.

Rastad said information from members of the Crystal crew suggested all the personnel on the Sanchi were killed in the first hour of the accident “due to the explosion and the release of gas”.

Oil tanker ablaze in East China Sea could burn for a month

“Despite our efforts, it has not been possible to extinguish the fire and recover the bodies due to repeated explosions and gas leaks,” he said.

“Two-thirds of the tanker is submerged, and the fire has spread to the entirety of the ship, and we can no longer approach it.” </s> BEIJING—Chinese authorities warned Monday that a large Iranian oil tanker that collided with a cargo ship in the East China Sea over the weekend was at risk of explosion and sinking.

In a statement posted online, the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration said that areas surrounding the Sanchi tanker were still burning, as well as giving off poisonous gas that hindered rescue work. </s> An Iranian oil tanker ablaze off the Chinese coast is at risk of exploding or sinking, authorities said Monday, as they reported there was no sign of survivors 36 hours after the vessel erupted in flames. The huge fire still raged around the stricken ship, which had been carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil, with thick black smoke billowing from the vessel and the surrounding sea.

Rescuers attempting to reach the crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis were being beaten back by toxic clouds, China’s transportation ministry said.

The Panamanian-flagged 274-metre (899-foot) tanker Sanchi is “in danger of exploding or sinking”, the ministry said.

State broadcaster CCTV posted a video on Twitter showing the fire seemingly under control as a second vessel sprayed it with a water cannon.

Rescuers had recovered one unidentified body as of Monday afternoon, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said during a regular press briefing.

“Conditions… are not that favourable for search and rescue work,” he said, adding that “we are also investigating how to prevent any secondary disaster.”

The accident happened on Saturday evening 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai.

The tanker, operated by Iran’s Glory Shipping, was heading to South Korea when it collided with a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship, the CF Crystal, carrying 64,000 tonnes of grain.

Ten government vessels and “many fishing ships” were helping with the ongoing rescue and clean up effort, the transportation ministry said, adding that a South Korean coast guard ship was also on the scene.

A US Navy aircraft participated in the search on Sunday, scouring a large area before returning to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.

As Chinese authorities raced to contain the ship’s leaking oil, experts expressed fear that the accident was poised to create a massive environmental disaster.

Greenpeace said in a statement it was “concerned about the potential environmental damage that could be caused by the 1 million barrels of crude oil on board.” If all of the Sanchi’s cargo spills, it would be the biggest oil slick in decades. By comparison, in the sixth-worst spill since the 1960s, the Odyssey dumped 132,000 tonnes some 700 nautical miles off Canada’s Nova Scotia in 1988, according to figures from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation website. “It’s very possible this will kill off marine life across a wide area,” Wei Xianghua, an environmental expert at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, told AFP Even under a best case scenario, it would take a “long time” for the area to get back to normal, Wei added. “At present, the only thing to be done is make the best effort to not allow the oil to spread to other places.” China had two vessels working to contain the spill early Monday morning, the transportation ministry said in its statement. Iran’s Petroleum Ministry said the tanker belongs to the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) and was delivering its cargo to South Korea’s Hanwha Total. The ship and its cargo were insured, a statement said. This is the second accident in less than two years involving a tanker owned by the NITC. In August 2016, an Iranian supertanker and a container ship collided in the Singapore Strait, causing damage to both vessels but no injuries or pollution. Saturday’s collision was the latest in a series of fatal maritime accidents to hit East Asia in recent years. Last October, 13 crew on a Chinese fishing boat were killed after their vessel collided with a Hong Kong oil tanker off Japan’s west coast. US Navy vessels have also been involved in some accidents, including a collision between the USS John. S. McCain and a tanker off Singapore last August that killed 10 sailors. </s> Footage shows the Iranian oil tanker Sanchi burning in the East China Sea following a weekend collision with a cargo ship. The Chinese government said difficult weather is complicating the search for several missing crew members. Video: CCTV

BEIJING—Chinese authorities said a large Iranian oil tanker that collided with a cargo ship in the East China Sea over the weekend was at risk of explosion and sinking.

In an online statement posted Monday, the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration said that areas surrounding the Sanchi tanker were still burning, giving off a poisonous gas that was hindering rescue work. </s> There are fears of an environmental disaster in the East China Sea as a tanker continues to leak oil two days after colliding with a cargo ship. Chinese officials have told state media the vessel is in danger of exploding and sinking.

Rescuers attempting to reach the site were being beaten back by toxic clouds, the transportation ministry has said. The crew, 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, remain missing despite international rescue efforts. The extent of the spill and environmental hazard are still unclear. The vessel was still ablaze on Monday morning.

The tanker had been carrying an ultra-light form of oil known as condensate which in the case of a spill can be more dangerous for the environment than regular crude. “Condensate is more likely to evaporate and mix in with the water,” John Driscoll of JTD Energy Services told the BBC. “It also can be colour- and odourless – so it is a lot harder to detect, contain and clean up.”

Though Panama-registered, the tanker Sanchi belongs to an Iranian company. The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 tonnes of Iranian oil when the vessel collided with a Chinese cargo ship on Saturday night, 165 nautical miles east of Shanghai.

The 21-strong crew of the Chinese ship were rescued. China has sent several ships to carry out search-and-rescue operations while South Korea helped with a coast guard ship and a helicopter. The US Navy had also sent a military aircraft to help with the rescue efforts. </s> BEIJING, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A burning Iranian oil tanker that had drifted into Japan’s exclusive economic zone has sunk after a collision on Jan. 6, Chinese state television said on Sunday.

The stricken tanker, called the Sanchi, which had been adrift and on fire for more than a week following the accident with another vessel in the East China Sea, had “suddenly ignited” around noon (0400 GMT), China Central Television said. (Reporting by Michael Martina and Tina Qiao; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
An oil tanker sinks in the East China Sea after burning for a week, causing a major spill.