Iranian ship Sanchi went down carrying one million barrels of oil that is highly toxic to marine life

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The spill from a sunken Iranian tanker off China’s east coast has more than trebled in size, just over a week after the ship sank in a ball of flames.



Authorities by Sunday had surveyed three oil slicks with a total surface area of 332 sq km (128 square miles), compared with the 101 sq km seen last Wednesday, China’s State Oceanic Administration said in a statement.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil from Iran when it collided with Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter the CF Crystal in early January, setting off a desperate race by authorities to search for survivors and stave off a massive environmental catastrophe.

East China Sea oil tanker disaster: what it means for the environment Read more

The bodies of only three of the ship’s 30 Iranian and two Bangladeshi crew members have been found.

Three coast guard vessels were on the scene on Sunday night assessing the spill, the Oceanic Administration said.

The type of condensate oil carried by the Sanchi does not form a traditional surface slick when spilt but is nonetheless highly toxic to marine life and much harder to separate from water. The cargo amounted to nearly one million barrels of oil.

The area where the ship went down is an important spawning ground for species like the swordtip squid and wintering ground for species like the yellow croaker fish and blue crab, among many others, according to Greenpeace.

It is also on the migratory pathway of numerous marine mammals, such as humpback and grey whales.