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February 2, 2018

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Traffic control area set up by sunken oil tanker site

Source: Xinhua | 00:01 UTC+8 February 2, 2018 | Print Edition

CHINA has set up a traffic control area in the East China Sea around the site where Iranian oil tanker Sanchi sunk, to ensure navigation safety and prevent secondary disasters.

Authorities have cordoned off an area with a radius of 10 nautical miles surrounding the location where the tanker sank last month, said Zhi Guanglu, an official with the Ministry of Transport.

Meanwhile, China has not given up efforts in searching for the bodies of the missing crew members, Zhi said. The 32 crew on board — 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis — all perished.

As of Tuesday, five Chinese vessels, as well as a Japanese vessel and one from South Korea, have cleaned a total of 225.8 square nautical miles, Zhi said at a press conference.

“We are also making plans to clean residual oil underwater with the help of underwater robots to root out the hidden risks from the oil spill,” said Zhi, noting that the ship also carried some 1,900 tons of fuel oil.

China’s marine, environmental and agricultural authorities have closely monitored the situation since the accident.

Besides sending ships and planes, satellite remote sensing has been employed to monitor up to 800,000 square kilometers of sea surface.

The authorities have also coordinated efforts to continue clean-up operations.

As of Sunday, the detected area of oil slick zone had shrank to 30 square kilometers from 328 square kilometers on January 21, according to Huo Chuanlin, an official with the State Oceanic Administration, citing official satellite remote sensing data.

Agricultural departments have also assessed nearly 500 samples from 40 locations. Fishing vessels are now allowed to enter areas with a radius of 30 nautical miles around the sinking site.

“Due to the latest monitoring results, the oil spill remains a stable and controllable influencing factor for fishing resources as of now,” said Han Xu, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture.

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 River estuary on January 6 and sank on January 14.

Zhi revealed that the black box of the ship had been opened at the presence of all parties involved, namely China, Iran and Panama. All the sides have reached an agreement to establish an investigation team to probe the accident together, he added.

“We will maintain communication with the Iranian side and decide whether to salvage the ship after further discussion with the shipowner and the flag country in accordance with relevant international treaties.”

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