Oil slick from sunken Iranian tanker Sanchi is detected. (Photo/Video screenshot from CCTV)
(ECNS) - China's maritime authority has detected multiple oil slicks spanning 93 square kilometers after the burning and sinking of an Iranian tanker.
The State Oceanic Administration said China Coast Guard vessel No. 2502 continued to monitor the water areas from Monday afternoon to Tuesday morning.
A 2-km-long, 1.5-km-wide oil slick was seen about 5 kilometers southeast of the tanker's sinking location on Monday afternoon. A total of 93 square kilometers included oil slicks detected by remote-controlled satellite within the monitored area Tuesday morning, with the largest polluted water area measuring about 36 square kilometers.
The SOA said it will continue monitoring the situation and provide updates. On Monday, staff took water samples at 12 sites, finding that seawater quality met standards.
The Panama-registered, Iranian-owned oil tanker Sanchi, carrying 113,000 tons of light crude oil, collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, about 300 kilometers east of the Yangtze estuary on Jan. 6 and sank on Jan. 14. The 32 crew members onboard the tanker — 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis — were lost.
