Sunken tanker can become environmental disaster

shanghai - The Iranian tanker, which sank on Sunday after a collision in the East China Sea last week, is leaking oil. Around the ship, the Sanchi, an oil slick of ten square kilometers has already emerged, according to Chinese state television.

If the entire load is leaked, the biggest oil spill with a ship in about fifty years is the case. The ship contains 150,000 tons of oil condensate, an extremely toxic by-product of petroleum. Their fumes can pose a danger for clearing plows.

By way of comparison, the Exxon Valdez, a ship that went ashore in Alaska and caused enormous damage, contained 'only' 35,000 tons of crude oil.

The Sanchi collided on a cargo ship from Hong Kong on January 6 about 300 kilometers east of Shanghai. The last ship suffered little damage, but the tanker caught fire. Of the 32 crew members of the Sanchi, thirty Iranians and two men from Bangladesh, no one was recovered alive.