32 missing as oil spills into the sea

MYSTERY surrounds the cause of a collision between a ship and a tanker carrying one million barrels of fuel in the East China Sea, in a region that has been described as the “new Bermuda Triangle”.

The fate of 32 crew members from Panamaregistered tanker The

Sanchi is unknown after its collision with Hong Kongregistered freighter CF

Crystal 250km off Shanghai in the East China Sea,

It sparked a huge fire that engulfed the vessel and led to cargo “spewing” into the ocean.

Chinese authorities said the CF Crystal’s crew had been saved.

There are fears the 136,000 tonnes of oil compromised in the crash could lead to an environmental disaster.

The Sanchi was heading north from Iran to South Korea when the collision occurred on Saturday.

A major rescue effort was under way yesterday but thick clouds of smoke billowing out of The Sanchi, plus strong seas and winds, were hampering efforts to assess the damage and search for the missing crew.

Oceanography expert Dr Simon Boxall of the University of Southampton told ABC Radio: “In this day and age with anti-collision systems, radar, with ship identification systems, two enormous ships like this should not collide.

“Particularly seeing as they weren’t in a narrow channel, there wasn’t restricted navigation, there was no excuse for this accident to occur.”

Research on the most dangerous seas in the world carried out by German newspaper Die Welt last year found the South China Sea and East China Sea the worst.

It likened the area to the notorious Bermuda Triangle – 33 ships were lost in 2016 alone, it said.

The intense danger in the region spells trouble because of a worldwide lack of any salvage equipment “suitable for such huge container ships”.

The Sanchi tanker was floating yesterday but had potential to sink.

“Trying to find out whether they’re still alive and rescuing them has to be first priority above all else,” Dr Boxall said.

“After that, then we start looking at the impact of what is potentially one of the top 10 spills worldwide ever.”