The Sanchi oil tanker collision occurred on 6 January 2018 when the Panamanian-flagged, Iranian-owned tanker Sanchi, with a full natural-gas condensate cargo of 136,000 tonnes (960,000 barrels), sailing from Iran to South Korea, collided with the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship CF Crystal 160 nautical miles (300 km) off Shanghai, China. The Sanchi caught fire shortly after the collision; after burning and drifting for over a week, it sank on 14 January. None of the Sanchi's 32 crew members survived. The crew of the CF Crystal was rescued and the ship made port in China. The financial damage of the Sanchi's sinking, based on NIOC estimates, is around USD 110 million: USD 60 million for the cargo and USD 50 million for the vessel itself.
Video Sanchi oil tanker collision
Collision
On 6 January 2018, at about 8 pm CST, the tanker Sanchi, which was carrying a full cargo of 136,000 metric tons (960,000 barrels) of South Pars natural-gas condensate for South Korean petrochemicals company Hanwha Total, on its way from Asaluyeh port, Iran, to Daesan, in South Korea, collided with the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship CF Crystal in the East China Sea, 160 nautical miles (300 km) off Shanghai, China, and caught fire. Natural-gas condensate, often shortened to "condensate", is a highly flammable type of ultra-light crude oil.
Sanchi was a double-hulled Suezmax crude oil tanker, with an overall length of 274.18 metres (899 ft 6 in), a gross tonnage of 85,462, and deadweight tonnage of 164,154 tonnes (180,949 short tons). The tanker was built in 2008 by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries at Yeongam, South Korea, for the National Iranian Tanker Company.
The other ship involved in the collision, CF Crystal, was on a voyage from Kalama, Washington, U.S., to Machong, Guangdong Province, China, with 64,000 tonnes (71,000 short tons) of grain. The ship was built in 2011 by the Chengxi Shipyard Co Ltd, Jiangyin, China, for the current owner Changhong Group (HK) Ltd, Hong Kong, and is managed by Shanghai CP International Ship Management & Broker Co Ltd, Shanghai. The ship is a Panamax bulk carrier, with gross tonnage of 41,073, and a deadweight tonnage of 71,725 tonnes (79,063 short tons). Following the collision, the full Chinese crew of 21 was rescued. CF Crystal was brought into port at Zhoushan on 10 January.
Aftermath and sinking
The South Korea Maritime Police Agency and the United States Navy assisted Chinese authorities in firefighting and the search for the missing crew of Sanchi, which continued despite the risk of the tanker exploding. The body of one crew member was recovered on 8 January. Part of the tanker was reported to have exploded on 10 January. The South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said that the fire could burn up to four weeks.
On 12 January 2018, the Japan Coast Guard in Kagoshima reported that the Sanchi had drifted into the Japanese Economic Zone on the afternoon of 10 January. Its position on the afternoon of 11 January was given by the same source as "300 kilometres (186 mi) northwest of Amami ?shima island."
On 13 January, a Chinese rescue team recovered two bodies from a lifeboat aboard the Sanchi and salvaged the voyage data recorder from the bridge. The four-person salvage team, although equipped with respirators, were forced off the vessel less than half an hour after boarding because the wind had shifted and toxic smoke had complicated the operation.
At 4:45 pm on 14 January, the tanker sank, leaving no survivors from the crew of 30 Iranian and two Bangladeshi seafarers. The chief of Iran's maritime agency told the Associated Press, "There is no hope of finding survivors."
On 17 January, China's Ministry of Transportation announced that the wreck of Sanchi has been located at a depth of 115 metres (377 ft).
Maps Sanchi oil tanker collision
Environmental impact
According to a report by Reuters, because of the incident, a slick 13 kilometres (7.0 nmi) by 11 kilometres (5.9 nmi) in size was formed on the sea surface, which is being pushed toward Japan by wind, and efforts to contain it were begun by ships surrounding the spill. Condensate is a highly volatile, highly toxic material that is greatly harmful to the environment. In addition to the slick on the water's surface, the sinking of the ship means that condensate and bunker oil - a heavier form of fuel oil - now threaten the depths of the sea from the wreckage. An estimated 2,000 tonnes (2,200 short tons) of bunker oil is thought to have been in Sanchi's fuel storage tanks.
An article by The New York Times discussed the environmental impact further, saying that the portion of the East China Sea in which the spill took place is a location of edible fish spawning at that particular time of the year, as well as a migration path of whales. The incident was compared in magnitude with the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Based on numerical simulations done by the National Oceanography Centre and the University of Southampton, researchers - who used particle tracking and a high-resolution global ocean circulation model for January 2006 until 2015 - provided a map of the contamination area and estimated that the pollution will reach Korean coasts within three months. According to the updated simulation by the Centre, the contamination could reach Japan within a month. The report mentioned that the point at which the ship sank is close to the path of strong Kuroshio Current, which may lead to greater, more rapid spreading.
The New York Times asserts that the environmental damage, including possible contamination of beaches, as well as the damage to the fishing industry, may be significant, and will be paid for by the involved parties and their insurers.
A report by CNN stated that the slick has grown in size to over 100 square kilometres (40 sq mi) by 19 January.
See also
- Bridgeton incident
- International rankings of Iran in transport
Reference
External links
- "32 Sailors Missing After Ships Collide off China's East Coast", The New York Times, 7 January 2018
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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