Iranian Oil Tanker Bursts Into Flames After Colliding With Chinese Ship Near South Korea

32 sailors are missing after an Iranian oil tanker sailing to South Korea collided with a cargo ship off the east coast of China and caught fire on Saturday evening, according to China's Ministry of Transport. The Sanchi collided with the Chinese cargo vessel CF Crystal about 160 nautical miles off the coast of Shanghai on Saturday, at about 8 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET), according to Iran’s Oil Ministry news agency, Shana. The 32 crew members of the Iranian vessel were missing, it said.

China’s Ministry of Transport also reported the collision Saturday and said the Sanchi was on fire and that search and rescue operations were under way. It said oil was on the water.

"The accident caused oil tanker 'SANCHI' to catch on fire, tilting to the right, losing contact with the crew," it said. The ministry said that the tanker was still afloat and burning Sunday morning 9 a.m. local time: "Until now, 'SANCHI' is floating and still on fire. There are fuel stains on the sea, the rescue is going on."

Shana and China didn’t report the cause of the crash.

The tanker Sanchi departed Iran’s Assaluyeh port on Dec. 16 for Daesan in South Korea carrying about 1 million barrels of natural gas condensate, according to ship-tracking data from Marine Traffic. State-run shipper National Iranian Tanker Co. owns the Panamanian-flagged vessel according to Bloomberg.

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Tanker Sanchi

As CNN adds, the 274 meter-long (890 feet) Sanchi was carrying 136,000 tons of oil from Iran to South Korea when it collided with the CF Crystal, which had been transporting food from the United States to the Chinese city of Guangdong. All 21 Chinese crew on board the Hong-Kong registered freighter the CF-Crystal were rescued, the Chinese ministry said.

Chinese maritime officials have launched a search and rescue operation involving eight vessels, with support from South Korea, which has provided a coastguard ship and fixed wing aircraft, the ministry said.

Iran's Shana news agency reported that the Sanchi was managed by the National Iranian Tanker Company and that its cargo was worth around $60 million. Shana said the oil had been purchased by South Korean customers.

Comments

curbjob Zero Point Jan 7, 2018 10:10 AM

"GPS .."

... gives position, the auto pilot is what would need to be hacked. Not impossible, tho;

COLREG's Rule 5

"Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and or the risk of collision."

interesting that none of the crew have been found ? or were they already dead ?

In reply to by Zero Point

Moe-Monay peddling-fiction Jan 7, 2018 10:08 AM

Oil spills are not a big deal.  There are microorganisms that eat the consume the excess energy in the oil.

Would you be concerned if I told you a spill of corn oil had occurred?  I would not be.  I know what happens to that.  You just don't like the unappealing color of crude oil.  Nonetheless an oil spill is more like littering.  Littering is not an environmental issue per se.  It is an aesthetic one. 

In reply to by peddling-fiction

D503 Jan 7, 2018 9:13 AM

Here we go. Another "accident."

"It ain't as though it's a pack of peanuts is it Tyrome?"

nmewn D503 Jan 7, 2018 9:22 AM

Putin? Kim? Trump? Jooos? Greenpeace? Who done it?

Hey!

Did everyone catch the fact that Oregonians are freaking-the-fuck out because the state passed a law taking away gas station attendants? 

The poor babies are whimpering about their own incompetence in being able to pump gas and/or don't want to have icky, smelly gas hands when they get to their barista job...lol...geeesh...so whens the next errrf quake again? 

In reply to by D503

nmewn Pure Evil Jan 7, 2018 10:09 AM

I just can't get over the Oregonians comments on all this, basically its some variation of...

"OMG! It is beneath me to pump my own gas! Its friggin manual labor, its smelly and I'm telling you, I'm to stupid to know how to do it anyways!"

...I fucking love it...lol.

See, I had to post this now before the sun rises out on the left coast or I'd be hit with 50 down arrows ;-)

In reply to by Pure Evil

Son of Captain Nemo williambanzai7 Jan 7, 2018 9:41 AM

"I’ve had the conspiracy theory for this event up on my board since November."...

I've had it on mine since (http://www.ae911truth.org/)

Sabotage of the oil routes was the next logical step in the Anglo-American financial meltdown when unsecured $trillion loans through military threats no longer work along with "digital wallets"!

Finger prints "ALL OVER IT"!!!

In reply to by williambanzai7