Oil tanker collides with cargo ship off the coast of Shangai; 32 crew members missing

32 people – 30 Iranians and 2 Bangladeshis – are still missing after the Iranian tanker “Sanchi” collided with a Chinese cargo ship 140 miles off Shanghai last Sunday. Fortunately, all 21 crew members of the Chinese freighter “Crystal” which was carrying grain from the United States, were successfully rescued.

After the collision, the taker, which was carrying 136,000 tons of oil condensate, caught fire and started spilling oil. Chinese maritime authorities promptly dispatched their teams and three cleaning ships to the scene.

For the National Iranian Tanker Co., the company which owns the tanker, this is the second collision occurred in less than two years. In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship, damaging both ships but causing no injuries or oil spill.

The collision occurred on Saturday night and, on Sunday night, the tanker was still floating and ablaze.

The circumstances of the accident are still unknown and no news about 32 missing people has been revealed yet by the Chinese government.