In an official announcement, an Iranian Navy official said that all members ofthe Sanchi oil tanker, which collided witha Hong Kong bulk carrier, have died. The crew consisted of30 Iranians and two citizens ofBangladesh. The resulting fire went onfor eight days. Rescue operations continued duringthis time, until, onJanuary 14th, another explosion tore away the bow ofthe tanker. Just a few hours later, the tanker sank inthe South China sea, leaving shambles and a huge oil spill behind.
Many opinions and versions ofthe story appeared inthe media, attempting toexplain why the tanker collided withHong Kong CF Crystal bulk carrier. Some experts blamed China forthe incident. However, Iranian officials have already debunked some ofthese rumors.
Sputnik spoke withDr. Hadi Haghshenas, vice chairman ofthe Port and Maritime Organisation ofIran, which is directly involved inthe investigation ofthe tragedy.
"I must point outthat both China, South Korea and even Japan, fromthe very beginning ofthe incident, provided help and collaboration withininternational conventions. We have no complaints towardsthem," he said.
"Sanchi was built in2008. It had a different price then, soo it's difficult toestimate the costs. But ingeneral, the ship, its equipment and cargo costs approximately $100 million.
Haghshenas also pointed outthat it is too early todraw any conclusions aboutwho is guilty inthe tragedy, because first one must decode the voyage data recorder (VDR) data and wait untilthe investigation is complete.
"We are inclose contact withall sides involved China, South Korea, Japan and Panama, including the company that owns the ship that went underthe Hong Kong flag and rammed our tanker," he said. Sanchi, asalmost one quarter ofall other ships inthe world, was registered inPanama.
"We are interacting throughall channels available, withinthe international conventions. In particular: the International Convention onMaritime Search and Rescue (SAR), the 1989 International Convention onSalvage, the International Convention onMutual Administrative Assistance forthe Prevention, the Investigation and Repression ofCustoms Offences and the International Convention forthe Safety ofLife atSea (SOLAS). The rescue operations started onSunday afterthe fires were put out. The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) ofthe Shahid Rajaee and Abbasa ports ofIran contacted the MRCC ofthe port ofShanghai and other countries. The legal interaction commenced immediately," he explained.
"Right now, the VDR is inChina. Thus, untilit is thoroughly examined and handed overto our specialists, drawing conclusions and making statements regarding the precise reason forthe Sanchi tragedy is inappropriate," he said.
In the meantime, Omid Shukri Kalehsar, an analyst and expert onenergy security fromWashington, said the following:
"The wreck ofthe tanker is one ofthe most tragic events inthe maritime history ofthe last decade. The ship carried 136 tonnes ofnatural gas condensate, which is equal to1 million barrels ofoil. The ship was sailing fromthe Iranian island ofKharg toSouth Korea. The cargo was meant forthe South Korean company Hanwha. Its cost is estimated at $60 million, and it was paid toIran inadvance."
"Regarding the ship and the cargo, according tothe chairman ofthe Central Insurance ofIran, Abdolnasse Hemmati,30 percent ofthe insurance comes fromIran (20 percent fromAlborz insurance company and 10 percent fromthe Mellat insurance company) and the remaining 70 percent comes froma company fromNorway. Hemmati also noted that compensation payments fromAlborz are estimated at $10 million and payment fromMellat at $5 million. As forthe cargo, its cost is more thantwice asmuch asthe ship ($70 million), and the expenses, probably, will be paid bythe buyer."
Captain Said Meili, who has 15-years ofexperience sailing, told Sputnik aboutthe technical aspects ofthe sinking ofSanchi and why the Iranian sailors did not get rescued.
The Grand Canal a nightmare forsailors.
According toMeili, the collision happened inthe worst place formaritime navigation inChina atthe entrance ofthe Grand Canal because both large and small vessels navigate throughthere invarious directions.
"Navigation always was and will be difficult there," he said.
In these conditions, there are almost no opportunities tomaneuver incase ofemergency. "There is a possibility that a ship will avoid one obstacle butwill ram intoanother," the captain said.
Could it just vanish fromthe radar?
"Vanishing ofsuch a large object asa whole ship fromradar is impossible," captain Meili explains. "The two ships undoubtedly could see each other."
Despite both ships being visible onthe radar, the collision could still have been unavoidable. According tothe captain, sea catastrophes often happen because oftechnical malfunctions or human mistakes.
"We call it a close quarter situation' that is when two ships are very close toeach other. The efforts ofone ship [to avoid a collision] might not be enough: the two ships must act ina coordinated manner. It's a very complicated situation."
The captain says that VDR data will enable investigators tounderstand whether the two ships tried tocommunicate and alter their routes toavoid the collision.
The bow part is the toughest part ofthe ship, taking the shock inthe case ofa collision.
"The Chinese bulk carrier hit the tanker withits bow, which implies that, probably, the bulk carrier crew pointed the ship towardsthe tanker tominimize their own damage and that is very sad," captain Meili said.
According toMeili, another possible mistake bythe Chinese vessel could have been an attempt toseparate fromthe tanker afterimpact, because the friction ofthe ships' metal insuch a situation can cause a fire and an explosion.
The experts determined that the whole ship was not onfire, only specific points.
"Regarding whether the crew had a chance tosurvive, it should be noted that everything depends onthe first explosion. The initial explosion was so dreadful that, unfortunately, all ofthe crew died," captain Meili explained.
"If there were atleast 30 minutes betweenthe collision and the explosion, the crew could survive, because rescue measures take only 20 minutes. The captain's order is important here, because untilhe gives an order toabandon ship, everybody does their best tosave the ship. It's a very difficult decision forthe captain," Meili said.
Search and Rescue
For the first several days the Chinese rescuers were dousing the tanker, trying toput outthe fires. The Japanese joined onthe fifth day. The fire was so strong it was impossible toapproach the blazing vessels.
"One cannot say that the Chinese did too little tosave the vessel. Anyway, they are human beings too. Everyone would get scared ofa fire and a ship that might go boom' again atany moment. They could only enter the zone that was not onfire and extract two dead bodies and a data recorder fromthe stern ofthe ship."
According tothe captain, "the whole crew saw that," butcrew members are not allowed tocomment or give interviews because China wants toavoid responsibility forthe incident.
Suggestions that the US is involved inthe incident Meili called "rumors."
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