32 crew members on the 'Sanchi' were reported missing after the collision with the 'CF Crystal' on Jan 6, 2018, at 8 p
32 crew members on the 'Sanchi' were reported missing after the collision with the 'CF Crystal' on Jan 6, 2018, at 8 p.m., in ed with a Chinese freighter off China’s east coast in the East China Sea, roughly 160 nautical miles east of the Yangtze River Delta. 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis were among the missing. The 21 members of the freighter’s crew – all Chinese nationals – were rescued. The fire which broke out on the tanker was was still burning on Jan 7. The 'Sanchi' was floating and burning, and there was an oil slick. Thick clouds of dark smoke could be seen billowing out of the tanker, engulfing the vessel as rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather and fire on and around the ship which had a list to starboard side. China’s maritime authorities sent eight vessels to support the search and rescue effort, three of which were to be involved in the clean-up operation. South Korea, in coordination with the China Maritime Search and Rescue Centre, had sent a Coastguard ship and a fixed-wing aircraft to help. The tanker which was managed by the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), was sailing from Kharg Island in Iran to Daesan in northwestern South Korea and had been scheduled to arrive in the night of Jan 7. It was carrying 136,000 tonnes, or just under 1 million barrels, of an ultra light crude worth about US$60 million. The tanker had been charterer by the South Korean company Hanwha Total, a 50-50 partnership between the Seoul-based Hanwha Group and the French oil giant Total. The 'CF Crystal' was loaded with grain from Kalama to Maching in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. It was due to arrive at its destination on Jan 10.