By GERRY SHIH
BEIJING — An Iranian oil tanker collided with a bulk freighter and caught fire off China’s east coast, leaving the tanker’s entire crew of 32 missing and causing it to spill oil into the sea, authorities said Sunday.
Chinese authorities dispatched police vessels and three cleaning ships to the scene after the collision, which happened late Saturday. The South Korean coast guard also sent a ship and a plane to help search for the missing crew members — 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.
The Panama-registered tanker Sanchi was sailing from Iran to South Korea when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal in the East China Sea, 160 miles off the coast of Shanghai, China’s Ministry of Transport said.
All 21 crew members of the Crystal, which was carrying grain from the United States, were rescued, the ministry said. The Crystal’s crew members were all Chinese nationals.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the collision.
State-run China Central Television reported Sunday evening that the tanker was still floating and burning, and that oil was visible in the water.
It was not clear, however, whether the tanker was still spilling oil. The size of the oil slick caused by the accident also was not known.
Earlier Sunday, Chinese state media carried pictures of the tanker on fire with large plumes of smoke.
The Sanchi was carrying 150,000 tons, or nearly 1 million barrels of condensate, a type of ultra-light oil, according to Chinese authorities.
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 Sanchi has operated under five different names since it was built in 2008, according the U.N.-run International Maritime Organization. The IMO listed its registered owner as Hong Kong-based Bright Shipping Ltd., on behalf of the National Iranian Tanker Co., a publicly traded company based in Tehran. The National Iranian Tanker Co. describes itself as operating the largest tanker fleet in the Middle East.
An official in Iran’s Oil Ministry, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said 30 of the tanker’s 32 crew members were Iranians.
“We have no information on their fate,” he said. “We cannot say all of them have died, because rescue teams are there and providing services.”
The official said the tanker was owned by the National Iranian Tanker Co. and had been rented by a South Korean company, Hanwha Total Co. He said the tanker was on its way to South Korea.
Hanwa Total is a 50-50 partnership between the Seoul-based Hanwha Group and the French oil giant Total. Total did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It’s the second collision for a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Co. in less than a year and a half. In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both ships but causing no injuries or oil spill.
___
Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
Source: Oc Register
32 missing, oil spills out after tanker collision off China
More from accidentsMore posts in accidents »
- 2 skiers killed in large late-winter avalanches in Colorado
- 81-year-old California man survives nearly a week stuck in snowbank on croissants and candy
- West Covina hiker found dead after falling 20 feet down Oregon bluff and being swept into the ocean
- Fiery tanker crash kills driver, burns Maryland homes
- Greece train crash search moves ‘centimeter by centimeter’
More from BusinessMore posts in Business »
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
- 2023 shows promising rebound for local auto dealerships
- Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long
- Which California metro had the 4th-fastest job growth in US?
- California home prices now 18% off all-time high
More from EnvironmentMore posts in Environment »
- Spider wars: Black widows are being killed off by non-native brown widows
- 2 skiers killed in large late-winter avalanches in Colorado
- Ecuador earthquake kills at least 12, causes wide damage
- Landslides raise concern, warning for coastal blufftop living
- Legal challenges loom as plans to dredge Newport Harbor, bury contaminated sediment inch forward
More from NewsMore posts in News »
- In Irvine, a major law enforcement response along San Diego Creek in search of missing person
- Man arrested on suspicion of shooting roommate to death inside Mission Viejo home
- Judge halts newly enacted Wyoming abortion ban
- Orange County man arrested on suspicion of shooting 5 at San Pedro beach park
- 71 Freeway shuts down in Pomona after potholes cause flat tires
More from Top Stories BreezeMore posts in Top Stories Breeze »
- Orange County man arrested on suspicion of shooting 5 at San Pedro beach park
- Day 2 of LAUSD strike dawns amid more protests, more rancor, more rain
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
- Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long
- Which California metro had the 4th-fastest job growth in US?
More from top stories ivdbMore posts in top stories ivdb »
- 71 Freeway shuts down in Pomona after potholes cause flat tires
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
- Army Master Sgt. from Orange who died in parachute accident to be welcomed home at Ontario Airport
- Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long
- Which California metro had the 4th-fastest job growth in US?
More from Top Stories LADNMore posts in Top Stories LADN »
- Day 2 of LAUSD strike dawns amid more protests, more rancor, more rain
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
- How the LAPD responded to Christopher Dorner’s allegations of bias
- 2023 shows promising rebound for local auto dealerships
- Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long
More from Top Stories LBPTMore posts in Top Stories LBPT »
- Day 2 of LAUSD strike dawns amid more protests, more rancor, more rain
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
- 2023 shows promising rebound for local auto dealerships
- Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long
- Which California metro had the 4th-fastest job growth in US?
More from Top Stories OCRMore posts in Top Stories OCR »
- In Irvine, a major law enforcement response along San Diego Creek in search of missing person
- Man arrested on suspicion of shooting roommate to death inside Mission Viejo home
- Orange County man arrested on suspicion of shooting 5 at San Pedro beach park
- 71 Freeway shuts down in Pomona after potholes cause flat tires
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
More from Top Stories PEMore posts in Top Stories PE »
- 71 Freeway shuts down in Pomona after potholes cause flat tires
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
- How the LAPD responded to Christopher Dorner’s allegations of bias
- Army Master Sgt. from Orange who died in parachute accident to be welcomed home at Ontario Airport
- Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long
More from Top Stories PSNMore posts in Top Stories PSN »
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
- Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long
- Which California metro had the 4th-fastest job growth in US?
- LAUSD strike begins, shutting down America’s second-largest school district
- Reborn Ringling Bros. circus to leap on tour — minus animals
More from top stories rdfMore posts in top stories rdf »
- 71 Freeway shuts down in Pomona after potholes cause flat tires
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
- How the LAPD responded to Christopher Dorner’s allegations of bias
- Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long
- Which California metro had the 4th-fastest job growth in US?
More from Top Stories SGVTMore posts in Top Stories SGVT »
- 71 Freeway shuts down in Pomona after potholes cause flat tires
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
- Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long
- Which California metro had the 4th-fastest job growth in US?
- LAUSD strike begins, shutting down America’s second-largest school district
More from top stories sunMore posts in top stories sun »
- 71 Freeway shuts down in Pomona after potholes cause flat tires
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
- How the LAPD responded to Christopher Dorner’s allegations of bias
- Army Master Sgt. from Orange who died in parachute accident to be welcomed home at Ontario Airport
- Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long
More from Top Stories WDNMore posts in Top Stories WDN »
- Southern California’s housing market slowdown pushes into 15th month
- How the LAPD responded to Christopher Dorner’s allegations of bias
- Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long
- Which California metro had the 4th-fastest job growth in US?
- LAUSD strike begins, shutting down America’s second-largest school district
More from TransportationMore posts in Transportation »
- 71 Freeway shuts down in Pomona after potholes cause flat tires
- Inglewood Transit Connector could uproot 44 businesses to make way for trains to SoFi Stadium, Kia Forum
- ‘Uptick’ in aviation incidents; FAA reviewing ‘serious close calls’
- Greece train crash search moves ‘centimeter by centimeter’
- LA Metro, Metrolink, OCTA, SBCTA offering free rides Saturday for Transit Equity Day
More from World NewsMore posts in World News »
Be First to Comment