China Will Send Robots to Probe Sunken Sanchi Oil Tanker
Dou Shicong
DATE:  Jan 18 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
China Will Send Robots to Probe Sunken Sanchi Oil Tanker China Will Send Robots to Probe Sunken Sanchi Oil Tanker

(Yicai Global) Jan. 18 -- China's Ministry of Transport said yesterday it has located the sunken MV Sanchi oil tanker in an estuary of the Yangtze River, and the Shanghai Salvage Bureau will send robots to probe it.

The Chinese survey vessel Haixun 166 found the Panama-registered vessel 115 meters below the seas on Jan. 16.

The tanker caught fire after it collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, about 160 nautical miles east of the Yangtze estuary on Jan. 6.

China dispatched four rescue workers to go aboard on Jan. 13, but high temperatures and toxic gases forced them to leave.

Sanchi exploded and sank on Jan. 14. It also leaked oil and discharged toxic substances. Authorities have confirmed three of its 32 crew members are dead. The rest are missing.

Sanchi was heading from Iran to South Korea, carrying 136,000 tons of gas condensate before the accident. The 274-meter-long boat belongs to Bright Shipping Ltd. Crystal's 21 crew members were all rescued.

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Keywords:   Sanchi,Underwater Robot,Shipwreck,Iran,Rescue