A major oil slick has happened in the East China Sea, by the sunken Iranian oil tanker. This oil slick is raising the prospect to be considered as the worst environmental damage from what could be the worst spill in decades.
What happened?
On January 15, the oil tanker ‘Sanchi’ carrying 1 million barrels of condensate oil reportedly sunk in the East China Sea after colliding with a cargo ship. Immediately after collision, a fire broke out onboard the tanker killing all the crew members onboard.
Major environmental risk:
According to Chinese authorities, the tanker Sanchi, which was carrying 1 million barrels of condensate, expanded to cover as much as 52 square miles on Monday, up from about 3.9 square miles the previous days. A fire, which had been burning off some of the highly flammable type of light oil, has dissipated.
Richard Steiner, an oil spill specialist based in Alaska said, “We simply do not know if all of the condensate was released, or if some remains in intact cargo holds on the ship at the seabed”.
Marine life at stake:
The East China Sea is home of a massive fish species such as mackerel which could be greatly affected by this spill. If there were a large-scale leak, then there would be an impact on creatures like the small yellow croaker and hairtail. The area is also on the migratory pathway of many marine mammals such as humpback whales, Greenpeace said.
Steiner further added, “It is virtually certain that much of the condensate went into the sea in solution, and that toxic underwater hydrocarbon plume will injure marine life exposed to it, even the burned fraction will leave a toxic residue on the water”.
The damage caused by the oil spill is being assessed by the Chinese authorities and the oil is currently drifting southeast away from the coastal area where it sank in the East China sea.
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Source: Bloomberg
