China Starts Massive Oil Spill Cleanup After Tanker Sinks

Chinese ships scrambled on Monday to clean up a massive oil spill after an Iranian tanker sank off China, raising fears of devastating damage to marine life.

The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tons of light crude oil from Iran, collided with CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter and caught fire, on January 6 and went under on Jan. 14 after a massive fire erupted, AFP reported.

The search and rescue effort was cancelled and a cleanup began after a fire on the sea surface was finally extinguished on Monday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Two ships sprayed chemical agents aimed at dissolving the oil, CCTV said. The spill was 18.5 kilometers long and up to 7.4 km wide and located east of the submerged ship, it added. This would amount to an area of some 129 square kilometers.

"This (cleanup) 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.

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 remains intact, and thus all of the condensate and fuel has been released," he told AFP.

Steiner noted that even if only 20% of the vessel's cargo were released into the sea, it would still be an amount equivalent to Alaska's disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez crude oil spill.

"I don't know of any condensate spill into a marine environment larger than 1,000 tons, and most that we know of have been less than 1 ton," he said.

The Sanchi's own fuel tank was able to accommodate some 1,000 tons of heavy diesel, according to Chinese media.

  Worst Situation

On Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV cited Zhang Yong, a senior engineer with China's State Oceanic Administration, as playing down environmental concerns.

The Sanchi's light crude would have "less impact on the ocean" than other kinds of oil, and minimal impact on humans given how far offshore the incident occurred, he said.

But the sinking of the ship before more oil had a chance to burn off was "the worst situation" possible, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times newspaper.

"The condensate oil, a kind of ultra-light oil on Sanchi, is different than other types of crude oil and is poisonous to marine life," he warned.

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.

"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.

Steiner slammed governments for failing to gather environmental data more quickly.

"As no one has been conducting a scientific assessment of (the environmental impact), the governments and ship owners are likely to claim, erroneously, there was limited damage," he said.