Human error by both the Iranian and Chinese sides largely contributed to the collision involving the tanker Sanchi, which resulted in the death of 32 people and the worst oil ship disaster in decades off the coast of China, says a lawmaker.
The Panama-registered tanker—run by Iran’s top oil shipping operator, NITC—collided with the freighter CF Crystal near Shanghai and the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta on January 6, according to Reuters.
The Sanchi—which was sailing from Iran to South Korea, carrying 136,000 tons of condensate, an ultra-light crude—sank on January 14 after drifting ablaze for more than a week.
The ship’s crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis were killed, while the CF Crystal returned safely to port with its crew after the incident.
Combination of Factors
"Human error occurred on the part of both the Sanchi tanker and the Crystal ship. So it is completely ruled out that the Chinese side was not at fault," Mohammad Reza Rezaei, chairman of Majlis Development Commission, told ICANA in an interview published on Monday.
A combination of factors led to the accident but human error played the "main" role, he said, without elaborating on other possible causes.
Rezaei dismissed speculations that the Sanchi's "well-seasoned" captain is to blame for the collision, noting, "At the time of the incident, an officer was at the helm of the Iranian tanker, and the captain did not play a part in the accident."
Call for Final Report
The lawmaker called on the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare as well as the Ports and Maritime Organization to release the final investigation report as soon as possible.
The black boxes for the Sanchi and the CF Crystal have been opened, and a joint investigation is being carried out by the maritime authorities of China, Panama, Iran and Hong Kong.
Rezaei urged the authorities to accommodate the demands of the victims' families and make every effort to recover the bodies.
The government in Beijing said in February that three bodies had been recovered before the oil tanker sank. Salvage crews have not found any other bodies on the surface of the sea.
Reuters quoted legal experts in January as saying that the reluctance of foreign banks to deal with Iran could complicate any compensation payments resulting from the incident.
The potential hitches stem from US restrictions on financial transactions with Iran still in place despite the lifting of international sanctions against the country following its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
