Iranian oil tanker ablaze off China
A tanker carrying oil from Iran to South Korea was on fire and spilling crude off China yesterday after colliding with a freight vessel, leaving 32 tanker crew members missing.
The tanker, carrying 136,000 tonnes of oil condensate, caught fire after the collision on Saturday night and its crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis were missing, China’s transport ministry said.
The other vessel was damaged but “without jeopardising the safety of the ship” and all of its 21 Chinese crew were rescued, the ministry said.
The tanker was still ablaze yesterday.
The Panamanian-flagged, 274-metre tanker Sanchi is operated by Iran’s Glory Shipping, the ministry said. The accident happened 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai.
The other vessel – the Hong Kong-flagged CF Crystal – was carrying grain.
“The Sanchi is still floating and continues to burn,” the ministry said. “There is oil on the sea surface. Search and rescue operations are under way.”
The foreign ministry said China had sent “cleaning ships” to the scene to minimise environmental damage.
Chinese maritime authorities have sent eight vessels and South Korea sent a plane and a 3,000-tonne coastguard ship.
“Our ship and plane have arrived at the site and are working closely with Chinese maritime authorities,” a coastguard spokesman said.
Iran’s petroleum ministry said the tanker belonged to the National Iranian Tanker Company and was delivering its cargo to South Korea’s Hanwha Total. The ship and its cargo were insured.
It was the second accident in less than two years involving a tanker owned by the Iranian company.
In August 2016 an Iranian supertanker and a container ship collided in the Singapore Strait damaging both vessels.