The Panama-registered oil tanker Sanchi is seen ablaze on Jan 7, 2018. The tanker carrying 136,000 metric tons of light crude oil has been adrift and on fire following a collision with another vessel in the East China Sea on Jan. 6. (Photo/Xinhua)
(ECNS) -- Neglect of duty might have led to the collision that left the Iranian oil tanker Sanchi burning and eventually sinking in the East China Sea, according to a Chinese expert.
The 274-meter-long Panama-registered tanker has sunk after burning for more than a week following an accident with the freighter CF Crystal on Jan. 6.
The Sanchi, carrying 32 crew members and 136,000 tons of condensate oil on board, was traveling from Iran to the Republic of Korea when the collision occurred.
China's State Oceanic Administration said a large amount of oil in surrounding waters was on fire and the polluted water was about 10 kilometers long and one kilometer wide. "The marine ecological environment has been affected," said the administration.
Li Fayin, a professor of petroleum engineering with Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute, said the amount of toxic gas from the burning oil was equal to about one-thousandth of the total vehicle exhaust emissions in China in a year, so the damage is very serious.
Huang Weiuqiu, a professor with the School of Mechanical Engineering, Changzhou University, has urged efforts to collect and treat the oil spill and residue.
Chai Xutao, with the Zhejiang Institute of Communications, said he believes the collision was perhaps due to negligence as the ships were large enough for visual observation. He also wondered if the electronic equipment used for safety warnings was working at the time of the collision.
Problems in communication between two ships can also cause a collision, Chai added. He said more information is needed to understand the reasons.
