Oil spill from sunken tanker expanding

Several oil slicks have been found in waters around a sunken Iranian tanker ship in the East China Sea in a spill that is growing and whose potentially major impact on the marine environment is still being assessed.

The State Oceanic Administration said late Monday oil slicks around the site of the sunken ship were much larger than the previous day.

The Sanchi sunk on Sunday after burning for more than a week following a collision with a Hong Kong-registered tanker.

All 32 members of its crew — 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis — are believed dead.

The State Oceanic Administration said a 15-kilometer-long oil slick was found southwest of the site of the sinking and another slick stretched 18 kilometers (11 miles) to the east.

The site is about 530 kilome- ters from Shanghai and 310 kilometers from Naha, Japan.

The administration said two ships and an aircraft were on the scene monitoring developments, but described no further action being taken at present.

The ship was carrying natural gas condensate, which continued to burn on the ocean surface.

Condensate is highly toxic but readily evaporates or burns off in a fire. If trapped underwater, however, it could seriously harm the marine environment.

The cause of the Jan. 6 collision between the Sanchi and the Chinese freighter CF Crystal, which was carrying grain, remains unclear.

The ship’s voice data recorder was reportedly recovered Saturday, possibly helping reveal how the collision and resulting fire occurred.