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On January 6, the oil tank Sanchi and cargo ship CF Crystal collided 160 nautical miles off the Shanghai coast. The Sanchi was carrying a highly flammable fuel oil, equivalent to one million barrels of oil
After crashing, the burning Sanchi was dragged south by tidal currents, before sinking in the South China Sea. Scientists hoped that while the ship was on fire, oil fumes would evaporate and a disaster could be contained, but also warned of dire consequences should the ship sink to the ocean bed
With the worst case scenario now a reality, a little-known chemical is being released into an area already hard hit by environmental issues as a result of heavy shipping and overfishing. The incident has the potential to become one of the worst environmental disasters in history
The following visual summary is compiled from official channels and international organisations
Regional currents dragged the Sanchi tanker about 300km (186 miles) south in nine days
The Iranian oil tanker was taking condensate ultra-light crude from Iran to South Korea, according to the North American corporation ConocoPhillips the concentrate is an extremely flammable liquid containing poisonous hydrogen sulphide gas, which can cause skin irritation and be fatal if swallowed or inhaled. It is catalogued as toxic to marine life with long-lasting effects.
The chemical carried by the Sanchi is much harder to separate from water than thick crude oil. Ideally, the condensate would have burned off, minimising its spread into the marine environment. But the tanker’s sinking exposed the local ecosystem to the potent and lethal agent. Fatal to coral, it also puts whales, fish and all types of seafood at grave risk.
Coastal areas in the affected region are lively fishing zones. This video shows the fishing activity of ships (in light blue) over the last month, as monitored by GFW
Half the world’s oil is transported by sea on tankers. The US agency for Energy Administration Information (EIA) estimates that 15 million barrels of oil pass through the Malacca Strait daily, providing fuel to China and the rest of the region. The below map shows the total number of vessels in the past year that have transited through the area
Taylor Energy’s former platform off the southern US coast in the Gulf of Mexico has continued to leaking oil since 2004, as a result of damage sustained by 2004’s Hurricane Ivan. Three ships from India (Jan 2017), Bangladesh (Dec 2014) and Philippines (Nov 2013) also continue to leak oil into the world’s oceans. Here is a global summary of major environmental disasters tied to oil tanker accidents
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