Oil tanker burning off China's coast at risk of exploding

[Rhiannon12866]

Source: ABC News

An oil tanker that caught fire after colliding with a freighter off China's east coast is at risk of exploding and sinking, Chinese state media reported Monday as authorities from three countries struggled to find its 32 missing crew members and contain oil spewing from the blazing wreck.

State broadcaster China Central Television, citing Chinese officials, said none of the 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis who have been missing since the collision late Saturday have been found as of 8 am Monday. Meanwhile, search and cleanup efforts have been hampered by fierce fires and poisonous gases that have completely engulfed the tanker and surrounding waters, CCTV reported.

The Panama-registered tanker Sanchi was sailing from Iran to South Korea when it collided late Saturday with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal in the East China Sea, 257 kilometers (160 miles) off the coast of Shanghai, China's Ministry of Transport said.

China, South Korea and the U.S. have sent ships and planes to search for the Sanchi's crew, all of whom remain missing. The U.S. Navy, which sent a P-8A aircraft from Okinawa, Japan, to aid the search, said late Sunday that none of the missing crew had been found.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-joins-search-32-missing-ships-collide-off-52202592

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In this photo provided by Korea Coast Guard, the Panama-registered tanker "Sanchi" is seen ablaze after a collision with a Hong Kong-registered freighter off China's eastern coast Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018. The oil tanker collided with a bulk freighter and caught fire off China's eastern coast, leaving its entire crew of 32 missing, most of them Iranians, authorities said. (Korea Coast Guard via AP)

[nitpicker]

1. Link to BBC

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-42600720

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Thanks for the updated news story - and many more important details

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 Sanchi 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.

One unidentified body has been recovered.

[Turbineguy]

3. 10 year old ship.

Built 2008. It's been renamed and reflagged a number of times

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid 67955/mmsi:356137000/imo 356608/vessel:SANCHI

[Rhiannon12866]

4. BBC Update - Sanchi: Oil tanker still burning off China coast

Bad weather is hampering efforts to contain a fire and an oil spill - more than 60 hours after two ships collided in the East China Sea, officials say.

China says an Iranian-owned oil tanker is still burning after the incident with a cargo ship about 260km (160 miles) off the coast of Shanghai.

The Sanchi tanker has on board 136,000 tonnes of condensate, which is an ultra-light version of crude oil.

Rescuers have now widened their search for 31 missing crew members.

The body of only one crewman, among the 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis on board, has so far been found.

Twenty-one Chinese nationals on the cargo ship have been rescued.

There fears of a major environmental disaster as the tanker is continuing to leak oil.


Much more (Includes video): http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-42615951



The oil tanker was still burning on Tuesday