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Fears of a growing environmental disaster in the East China Sea escalated as a tanker continued to be still ablaze and leak oil on Monday two days after colliding with a cargo ship. On Saturday night. the Sanchi tanker. carrying 136.000 tonnes of Iranian oil. collided with a Chinese cargo ship. 165 nautical miles east of Shanghai. the BBC reported. The 21-strong crew of the Chinese ship were rescued but Sanchi`s crew. 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis. remain missing. The tanker had been carrying an ultra-light form of oil known as condensate which in the case of a spill can be more dangerous for the environment than regular crude.
`Condensate is more likely to evaporate and mix in with the water.` John Driscoll of JTD Energy Services told the BBC. `It also can be colour- and odourless – so it is a lot harder to detect. contain and clean up.`
The extent of the spill and environmental hazard were still unclear. The US Navy has sent a military aircraft to help China with the rescue efforts which have been hampered by the blaze and oil slick. China has deployed several ships to carry out search-and-rescue operations while South Korea has also sent a coast guard ship and a helicopter.
