Sanchi Oil Tanker Collision

The ''Sanchi'' oil tanker collision occurred on 6 January 2018 when the Panamanian- flagged, Iranian-owned tanker , 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 off Shanghai, China. ''Sanchi'' caught fire shortly after the collision; after burning and drifting for over a week, it sank on 14 January.

All of ''Sanchi''s 32 crew members were killed.

The crew of ''CF Crystal'' was rescued and the ship made port in China. The financial damage of the sinking of ''Sanchi'', based on NIOC estimates, is around USD 110 million: USD 60 million for the cargo and US$50 million for the vessel itself.

Collision

On the evening of 6 January 2018, at about 8 pm China time 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 north bound passage from Asaluyeh port, Iran, to Daesan, in South Korea, collided with the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship in the East China Sea, 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 , a gross tonnage of 85,462, and deadweight tonnage of . 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 a bulk carrier on a voyage from Kalama, Washington, U.S., to Machong, Guangdong Province, China, with 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 . 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 for up to four weeks.

On 12 January 2018, the Japan Coast Guard in Kagoshima reported that ''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 " northwest of Amami Ōshima island."

On 13 January, a Chinese rescue team recovered two bodies from a lifeboat aboard ''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 .

Environmental impact

According to a report by Reuters, because of the incident, a slick 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 as the remaining condensate cargo and bunker oila heavier form of fuel oilthreaten the depths of the sea from the wreckage. An estimated 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, National Oceanography Centre and University of Southampton researcherswho used Lagrangian particle tracking and hindcast circulation from a high-resolution global ocean general circulation model for the period 2006–2015produced a map of the potential contamination area and estimated that the pollution would reach Korean coasts within three months. Using updated simulations based on the sinking location of ''Sanchi'', the same researchers subsequently estimated that contamination could reach Japan within one month, due to the close proximity of the strong Kuroshio Current. Further updates, based on the suspected, but unconfirmed, arrival of ''Sanchi'' oil at the island of Amami Ōshima, projected the contamination may reach the Ryukyu Island chain and potentially affect coral reefs there. However, ocean circulation models used by China's State Oceanic Administration in Qingdao showed a different path for the contamination, one that would instead bypass the coastal waters of Japan.

''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 grew in size to over by 19 January.

The volatile nature of the condensate makes the environmental impact of it different compared with crude oil spills. A report by ''Nature'' stated that because of this difference, perhaps the more important aspect of this spill is the immediate toxic effect of it on the marine inhabitants, with less concern about deposition of condensate on sediments or polluting beaches.

See also

* Bridgeton incident
* International rankings of Iran in transport

References

External links

"32 Sailors Missing After Ships Collide off China's East Coast"
''The New York Times'', 7 January 2018

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchi
2018 disasters in China
January 2018 in China
Maritime incidents in 2018
Ships lost with all hands
Shipwrecks in the East China Sea
Shipwrecks of China