Fire burns out on tanker but fears of sea pollution
Print Edition
THE fire from a sunken Iranian oil tanker in the East China Sea had burned out, a Chinese transport ministry spokesman said yesterday.
However, concerns remain about possible major pollution to the seabed and surrounding waters, added the spokesman surnamed Zhao.
The fire ceased around noon, he said.
Earlier footage showed huge clouds of thick smoke rising from the oil slick that had been burning for more than a week.
Just three bodies from the oil tanker Sanchi’s crew of 32, comprising 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, have been recovered.
The cause of the January 6 collision between the Sanchi and the Chinese freighter CF Crystal, which happened 257 kilometers east of Shanghai, remains unclear. All 21 crew aboard the freighter were safe.
The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tons of light crude oil from Iran, went under on Sunday after a new and massive fire erupted, sending a cloud of black smoke as high as 1,000 meters above the East China Sea.
Zhao said new photos and video footage showed the fire had gone out entirely and said an investigation into the disaster would be conducted according to the “strictest international standards.”
The search and rescue effort was canceled and a clean-up began after the fire on the sea surface was finally extinguished yesterday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Cause under investigation
Two ships were on the scene spraying foam detergents to dissolve oil remaining on the surface.
“This (clean-up) work is one of our focuses. It is also a priority area of our efforts. No one wants to see a large-scale secondary disaster,” said foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, adding that the cause of the accident was under investigation.
The ship was carrying a type of hydrocarbon liquid known as natural gas condensate and left a 10-square-kilometer area contaminated with oil, according to Chinese authorities.
Condensate is highly toxic but readily evaporates or burns off in a fire. If trapped underwater, however, it could seriously harm the marine environment, while the ship’s fuel source also poses a major threat.
The ship’s voice data recorder, which functions like a “black box” on aircraft, was reportedly recovered on Saturday, possibly helping to shed light on how the collision and resulting fire occurred.
Ma Jun, director of the private Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing, said the degree of environmental damage caused by the disaster depends on how much fuel was left in the tanker and the direction of winds and currents.
“The key issue is how much exactly the condensate oil has been left after all the burning and explosion, and how much of that sank together to the bottom of the sea,” Ma said. “We need to keep an eye to prevent (toxins) being transferred to the fishing ground.”
13 ships to the rescue
Chinese officials blamed poor weather for complicating their rescue efforts. Thirteen ships, including one from South Korea and two from Japan, had joined in the rescue and cleanup effort.
Alaska-based oil spill consultant Richard Steiner called the accident “the single largest environmental release of petroleum condensate in history.”
Given the poor condition of the hull of the ship after a week of explosions and fire, “it is my assumption that none of the cargo holds or fuel compartments remain intact, and thus all of the condensate and fuel has been released,” Steiner said.
Even if only 20 percent of the vessel’s cargo was released into the sea, it would still be an amount about equivalent to Alaska’s disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez crude oil spill, he said.
Unlike crude, condensate does not form a traditional surface slick when spilt.
Instead, it generates a toxic underwater plume of hydrocarbons invisible from the sea surface.
Whales, porpoises, seabirds, fish, and plankton in contact with these hydrocarbons in the East China Sea will either die quickly or develop “sub-lethal injuries” such as physiological impairment, reproductive failure and chronic diseases, said Steiner.
The region is also a crucial spawning site for many large fish species, whose eggs and larvae have “undoubtedly been exposed” to the toxic compounds, he said.
“Just because there is no traditional surface slick does not mean there is minimal impact. While the toxic phase of the spill may only last a few months, the injury to populations could persist much longer,” he said.
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