The demise of Iranian tanker Sanchi has caused a great pollution off Chinese coast. The Chinese maritime Authority now speaks of three oil slicks, which would have spread to a total size of 332 square kilometers. This is similar to city area of Dresden. On Wednesday, a size of 101 square kilometers was still measured.

The Sanchi had collided with a Chinese freighter on 6 January in Chinese sea and got on fire. After several explosions, tanker sank on January 14th. Presumably all 32 seamen died in accident, so far only corpses of three crew members were found. According to Chinese Ministry of Transport, ship is 115 metres deep on seabed.

According to current data, 113,000 tonnes of oil condensate – a particularly high-quality oil – and up to a thousand tonnes of heavy fuel oil were on board Sanchi. The ship sank before cargo was completely burned.

The oil condensate does not form surface of sea, as is often observed in tanker accidents. However, substance is highly toxic to marine life and very difficult to separate from water.

Time Online Date Of Update: 23 January 2018, 12:02