China Says 32 People, Mostly Iranians, Missing After Oil Tanker Collision

China boat crash

China boat crash

The AP reports that an official in Iran's Oil Ministry said 30 of the tanker's 32 crew members were Iranians.

China's Ministry of Transport said the missing people are its crew - 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.

The 21-strong crew aboard the Hong Kong-registered CF Crystal have all been rescued and the ship was not severely damaged. It said South Korea also sent a search plane and a coastguard ship.

By comparison, the Exxon Valdez was carrying 1.26 million barrels of crude oil when it spilled 260,000 barrels into Prince William Sound off Alaska in 1989.

The tanker was still ablaze on Sunday, with images broadcast by state television channel CCTV showing the ship in the grip of an intense fire, enveloped in clouds of black smoke. Chinese maritime authorities have dispatched eight vessels, including three specialised cleansing vessels, for search and rescue.

He further said that the tanker was leased by a South Korean company.

The last major oil tanker disaster was the sinking of the Prestige off Spain in November 2002, which caused one of Europe's worst environmental catastrophes.

Oakland Raiders Set to Ask Jon Gruden to Return as Coach
The NFL's finance committee also would have to vet Gruden, but there is no reason to think it would not approve the deal. Jon Gruden will leave the ESPN booth to return as coach of the Oakland Raiders , ESPN's Adam Schefter reported .

Taiwan releases North Korea oil smuggling suspect on bail
The arrival of North Korea's men's and women's teams comes amid growing tension in the region. The message seemed aimed especially at the United States.

Pakistan relationship with China and United States not the same, says official
China opened its first offshore naval base previous year in Djibouti, a small French and Arabic speaking country on the Horn of Africa.

The incident marked the first major maritime incident involving an Iranian tanker since the lifting of global sanctions on Iran in January 2016.

The Chinese government gave no details of the size of the spill. The Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement the cause of the incident was under investigation.

According to Reuters, Sanchi was built in 2008 and is operated by the state-backed National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC) and was scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Sunday, 7 January.

Hanwha Total was not immediately available for comment.

The almost 890 feet-long 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, it said. It was due to arrive on January 10, according to Reuters ship tracking data.

It was the second accident in less than two years involving a tanker owned by the NITC.

Recommended News

We are pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news.
Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper.
Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.