INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Authors: Super UserThe Sanchi oil tanker sank on January 14 after burning for several days (File Photo)Dubai: A
committee investigating a collision between an Iranian tanker and a Chinese freighter has come to diverging conclusions over the causes of
the worst oil ship disaster in decades, Iran's state television reported on Saturday.The Panama-registered Sanchi, run by Iran's top oil
shipping operator NITC, collided with the CF Crystal, registered in Hong Kong, off the coast of China near Shanghai and the mouth of the
Yangtze River Delta on Jan
6.The Sanchi sank on Jan.14 after burning for several days
The entire crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, are presumed dead."(Representatives of) China and Hong Kong believe that both vessels
were to blame," Iran's state TV quoted Nader Pasandeh, the country's representative on the investigating committee, as saying."But Iran,
Panama and Bangladesh see the veering to the right by the Crystal as the cause of the disaster," he added.The Sanchi was carrying the
equivalent of nearly 1 million barrels of ultra-light crude, plus its own fuel, to South Korea
According to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, the collision led to the worst tanker spill in 35 years.Pasandeh did not
say what the next step would be or how the conflict would be resolved.© Thomson Reuters 2018(Except for the headline, this story has not
been edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
