Beijing (CNN) Thirty-two sailors are missing after an oil tanker and freight ship collided off the east coast of China Saturday, according to China's Ministry of Transport.

The missing -- 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshi citizens -- are all crew members from the Panama-registered tanker SANCHI, the ministry said.

The collision took place approximately 160 nautical miles (184 statute miles) east of the mouth of the Yangtze River, at about 8 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET), it said in a statement.

"The accident caused oil tanker 'SANCHI' to catch on fire, tilting to the right, losing contact with the crew," it said.

32 crew members, incl. 30 Iranians & 2 Bengalese, have gone missing after a Panama-registered oil tanker and a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter collided off China's east coast on Sat evening. Search and rescue are underway pic.twitter.com/o7jDIu9oDb — People's Daily,China (@PDChina) January 7, 2018

All 21 Chinese crew on board the Hong-Kong registered freighter the CF-Crystal were rescued, the ministry said.

Read More</s>At least 32 crew members have been reportedly gone missing after two vessels, one from Iran and another from China, collided into each other in the China’s east coast on late Saturday night. While all the 21 crew members on Chinese vessel have been successfully rescued, an official from Transport Ministry of China confirmed. Most of the people missing after the accident are Iranians and according to reports, authorities have launched a full-scale rescue operation to retrieve the missing crew.

On late Saturday night, an oil tanker from Iran and a cargo ship from China rammed into each other. The accident resulted in massive fire and huge oil spillage in waters about 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai. The Iranian tanker Sanchi was reportedly carrying 136,000 tonnes of oil and was on fire till early Sunday morning, authorities reported. Among the 32 people missing from the oil tanker, 30 are from Iran and 2 from Bangladesh.

On other hand, the cargo ship CF Crystal was damaged in the accident as well but as per China’s transport ministry, the safety of the freighter was not jeopardised and all of the 21 crew members on board were successfully rescued from the spot. The Chinese maritime authorities immediately rushed eight rescue ships to the site of accident while South Korea joined hands in the operation as well by sending a plane and a coast guard ship.</s>BEIJING (Reuters) - A tanker carrying Iranian oil and run by the country’s top oil shipping firm was ablaze and spewing cargo into the East China Sea on Sunday after colliding with a Chinese freight ship, leaving the tanker’s 32 crew members missing, the Chinese government said.

Thick clouds of dark smoke could be seen billowing out of the Sanchi tanker, engulfing the vessel as rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather and fire on and around the ship, Mohammad Rastad, head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation, told Iranian television. (Graphic: Map showing ship collision location - tmsnrt.rs/2CBgqai)

The Sanchi, run by the country’s top oil shipping operator, collided with the CF Crystal about 160 nautical miles off the coast near Shanghai and the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta on Saturday evening, the Chinese Ministry of Transportation said in a statement.

The Panama-registered tanker was sailing from Iran to South Korea, carrying 136,000 tonnes of condensate, an ultra light crude. That is equivalent to just under 1 million barrels, worth about $60 million, based on global crude oil prices.

“Sanchi is floating and burning as of now,” the Chinese ministry said. “There is an oil slick and we are pushing forward with rescue efforts.”

It had sent four rescue ships and three cleaning boats to the site by 9 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Sunday, the ministry added.

Chinese state media CCTV showed pictures of the tanker ablaze and billowing plumes of thick dark smoke.

South Korea also dispatched a ship and helicopter to help. A Korean Coast Guard official confirmed the fire was still raging at 1 p.m. (0500 GMT).

The tanker’s 32 crew members are all Iranian nationals except for two Bangladeshi nationals, the Chinese transport ministry said.

“There is a wide perimeter of flames around the vessel because of the spillage and search and rescue efforts are being carried out with difficulty,” Iran’s Rastad said.

“Unfortunately, up to this moment, there is no news of the crew,” he said.

CF Crystal’s 21 crew members, all Chinese nationals, were rescued and the ship suffered “non-critical” damage, China’s transport ministry said.

Shipping experts said the incident could potentially disrupt shipping in and around Shanghai, one of the world’s largest and busiest ports.

It was not immediately clear how much environmental damage had been caused or the volume of oil spilled into the sea.

The last major oil tanker disaster was the sinking of the Prestige off Spain in November 2002, which was carrying 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and caused one of Europe’s worst environmental catastrophes.

About 63,000 tonnes of its cargo leaked into the Atlantic, damaging beaches in France, Spain and Portugal and forcing the closure of Spain’s richest fishing grounds.

That was almost twice the size of the Exxon Valdez spill, which ravaged Alaska’s coast in 1989.

MAJOR MARITIME INCIDENT

The incident also marked the first major maritime incident involving an Iranian tanker since the lifting of international sanctions against Iran in January 2016.

There was a collision involving an NITC-operated supertanker in the Singapore Strait in August 2016, but there was no loss of life or pollution.

The Chinese government gave no details of the size of the spill. The Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement that the cause of the incident was under investigation.

Reuters ship tracking data shows Sanchi was built in 2008 and was managed by the National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC). Its registered owner is Bright Shipping Ltd.

It was due to arrive at Daesan in South Korea from Kharg Island in Iran on Sunday, according to Reuters ship tracking.

The Sanchi tanker, leased by Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co Ltd, had “valid foreign insurance”, Iranian oil ministry spokesman Kasra Nouri told Iran’s state television.

Hanwha Total was not immediately available for comment.

Norwegian ship insurer Skuld confirmed it was the lead hull insurer for the tanker and the protection and indemnity (P&I;) insurer for CF Crystal.

Related Coverage Factbox: Major oil tanker spills since 1970

“We are working very closely with the relevant authorities to establish the facts surrounding the collision,” it said in a statement.

Sanchi collided with CF Crystal, registered in Hong Kong, which was carrying 64,000 tonnes of grain from the United States to China’s southern province of Guangdong, the Chinese government said.

CF Crystal, which was built in 2011, was due to arrive in China on Jan. 10, according to Reuters ship tracking data.</s>BEIJING—An Iranian oil tanker collided with a bulk freighter and caught fire off China’s east coast, leaving the tanker’s entire crew of 32 missing and causing it to spill oil into the sea, authorities said Sunday. Chinese authorities dispatched police vessels and three cleaning ships to the scene after the collision, which happened late Saturday. The South Korean coast guard also sent a ship and a plane to help search for the missing crew members — 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis. The Panama-registered tanker Sanchi was sailing from Iran to South Korea when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal in the East China Sea, 257 kilometres off the coast of Shanghai, China’s Ministry of Transport said. All 21 crew members of the Crystal, which was carrying grain from the United States, were rescued, the ministry said. The Crystal’s crew members were all Chinese nationals. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the collision.

State-run China Central Television reported Sunday evening that the tanker was still floating and burning, and that oil was visible in the water. It was not clear, however, whether the tanker was still spilling oil. The size of the oil slick caused by the accident also was not known. Earlier Sunday, Chinese state media carried pictures of the tanker on fire with large plumes of smoke.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 metric tons (or nearly 1 million barrels) of condensate, a type of ultralight oil, according to Chinese authorities. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez was carrying 1.26 million barrels of crude oil when it spilled 260,000 barrels into Prince William Sound off Alaska in 1989. The Sanchi has operated under five different names since it was built in 2008, according the UN-run International Maritime Organization. The IMO listed its registered owner as Hong Kong-based Bright Shipping Ltd., on behalf of the National Iranian Tanker Co., a publicly traded company based in Tehran. The National Iranian Tanker Co. describes itself as operating the largest tanker fleet in the Middle East. An official in Iran’s Oil Ministry, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said 30 of the tanker’s 32 crew members were Iranians. “We have no information on their fate,” he said. “We cannot say all of them have died, because rescue teams are there and providing services.” The official said the tanker was owned by the National Iranian Tanker Co. and had been rented by a South Korean company, Hanwha Total Co. He said the tanker was on its way to South Korea. Hanwa Total is a 50-50 partnership between the Seoul-based Hanwha Group and the French oil giant Total. Total did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s the second collision for a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Co. in less than a year and a half. In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both ships but causing no injuries or oil spill. Read more: China tightens trade to North Korea under intensified UN nuclear sanctions</s>An Iranian oil tanker has collided with a bulk freighter and caught fire off China's east coast, leaving the tanker's entire crew of 32 missing and causing oil to spill into the sea, authorities say.

Chinese authorities dispatched police vessels and three cleaning ships to the scene after the collision, which happened late on Saturday.

The South Korean coast guard also sent a ship and a plane to help search for the missing crew members — 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.

The Panama-registered tanker Sanchi was sailing from Iran to South Korea when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal in the East China Sea, 257 kilometres off the coast of Shanghai, China's Ministry of Transport said.

All 21 crew members of the Crystal, which was carrying grain from the United States, were rescued, the ministry said.

The Crystal's crew members were all Chinese nationals.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collision.

State-run China Central Television reported on Sunday evening that the tanker was still floating and burning, and that oil was visible in the water.

It was not clear, however, whether the tanker was still spilling oil.

The size of the oil slick caused by the accident also was not known.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 metric tons of condensate, a type of ultra-light oil, according to Chinese authorities.

An official in Iran's Oil Ministry, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said it was not yet clear what had happened to the crew members.

"We have no information on their fate," he said.

"We cannot say all of them have died, because rescue teams are there and providing services."

The official said the tanker was owned by the National Iranian Tanker Co and had been rented by a South Korean company, Hanwha Total Co.

He said the tanker was on its way to South Korea.

Hanwa Total is a 50-50 partnership between the Seoul-based Hanwha Group and the French oil giant Total.

Total did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is the second collision for a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Co in less than a year-and-a-half.

In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both ships but causing no injuries or oil spill.</s>An Iranian oil tanker collided with a bulk freighter and caught fire off China's east coast, leaving the tanker's entire crew of 32 missing and causing it to spill oil into the sea, authorities said today.

The Panama-registered tanker "Sanchi" is seen ablaze after a collision with a Hong Kong-registered freighter off China's eastern coast January 7, 2018.

Chinese authorities dispatched police vessels and three cleaning ships to the scene after the collision, which happened yesterday.

The South Korean coast guard also sent a ship and a plane to help search for the missing crew members — 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.

The Panama-registered tanker Sanchi was sailing from Iran to South Korea when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal in the East China Sea, 257 kilometers off the coast of Shanghai, China's Ministry of Transport said.

All 21 crew members of the Crystal, which was carrying grain from the United States, were rescued, the ministry said.

State-run China Central Television reported Sunday evening that the tanker was still floating and burning, and that oil was visible in the water.

It was not clear, however, whether the tanker was still spilling oil.

The size of the oil slick caused by the accident also was not known.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 metric tons (150,000 tons, or nearly 1 million barrels) of condensate, a type of ultra-light oil, according to Chinese authorities.

By comparison, the Exxon Valdez was carrying 1.26 million barrels of crude oil when it spilled 260,000 barrels into Prince William Sound off Alaska in 1989.

The Sanchi has operated under five different names since it was built in 2008, according the UN-run International Maritime Organisation.

The IMO listed its registered owner as Hong Kong-based Bright Shipping Ltd., on behalf of the National Iranian Tanker Co., a publicly traded company based in Tehran.

The National Iranian Tanker Co. describes itself as operating the largest tanker fleet in the Middle East.</s>An Iranian oil tanker has collided with a bulk freighter and caught fire off China’s eastern coast, leaving its crew of 32 missing.

The missing, 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, are all from the tanker Sanchi, which spilled oil and was floating while still burning early on Sunday.

Chinese maritime authorities sent police vessels and three cleaning ships to the scene, while the South Korean coast guard also sent a ship and an airplane to aid the search effort.

The Panama-registered tanker was sailing from Iran to South Korea when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal 160 miles from shore late on Saturday, the Ministry of Transport said.

The 21 members of the Crystal’s crew, all Chinese nationals, were rescued, the ministry said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collision.

The ship has operated under five different names in the time since it was built in 2008, according the UN-run International Maritime Organisation.

The IMO listed its registered owner as Hong Kong-based Bright Shipping Ltd, care of the National Iranian Tanker Co, a publicly traded company based in Tehran.

The National Iranian Tanker Co describes itself as operating the largest tanker fleet in the Middle East.

An official in Iran’s oil ministry said the tanker was owned by the National Iranian Tanker Co, and had been rented by a South Korean company, Hanwha Total Co. He said the tanker was on its way to South Korea.

Hanwa Total is a 50-50 partnership between the Seoul-based Hanwha Group and the French oil giant Total.

It is the second collision for a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Co in less than a year and a half.

In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both ships but causing no injuries or oil spill.–AP</s>(CNN) — Thirty-two sailors are missing after an oil tanker and freight ship collided off the east coast of China Saturday, according to China’s Ministry of Transport.

The missing — 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshi citizens — are all crew members from the Panama-registered tanker SANCHI, the ministry said.

The collision took place approximately 160 nautical miles (184 statute miles) east of the mouth of the Yangtze River, at about 8 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET), it said in a statement.

“The accident caused oil tanker ‘SANCHI’ to catch on fire, tilting to the right, losing contact with the crew,” it said.

All 21 Chinese crew on board the Hong-Kong registered freighter the CF-Crystal were rescued, the ministry said.

The 274 meter-long (nearly 890 feet-long) SANCHI was carrying 136,000 tons of oil from Iran to South Korea when it collided with the CF Crystal, which had been transporting food from the United States to the Chinese city of Guangdong, it said.

The ministry said that the tanker was still afloat and burning Sunday morning 9 a.m. local time: “Until now, ‘SANCHI’ is floating and still on fire. There are fuel stains on the sea, the rescue is going on.”

The People’s Daily newspaper tweeted a photo that appeared to show the ship ablaze.

Chinese maritime officials have launched a search and rescue operation involving eight vessels, with support from South Korea, which has provided a coastguard ship and fixed wing aircraft, the ministry said.

Iran’s Shana news agency, which focuses on the country’s petroleum and energy sectors, reported that the SANCHI was managed by the National Iranian Tanker Company and that its cargo was worth around $60 million. Shana said the oil had been purchased by South Korean customers.</s>BEIJING — An Iranian oil tanker collided with a bulk freighter and caught fire off China's eastern coast, leaving its entire crew of 32 missing, most of them Iranians, authorities said Sunday.

The missing — 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis — are all from the tanker Sanchi, which spilled oil and was floating while still burning early Sunday, said Chinese maritime authorities, who dispatched police vessels and three cleaning ships to the scene.

Chinese state media carried pictures of the tanker on fire with smoke plumes daytime Sunday.

The South Korean coast guard also sent a ship and an airplane to aid the search effort.

The Panama-registered tanker was sailing from Iran to South Korea when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal 257 kilometres (160 miles) off the coast of Shanghai late Saturday, the Ministry of Transport said.

All 21 members of the Crystal's crew — all Chinese nationals — were rescued, the ministry said.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the collision.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 metric tons (150,000 tons) of condensate, a type of ultra-light oil, while the Crystal was carrying grain from the United States, according to Chinese authorities.

The size of the oil slick caused by the accident was not immediately known.

The tanker has operated under five different names in the time since it was built in 2008, according the U.N.-run International Maritime Organization. The IMO listed its registered owner as Hong Kong-based Bright Shipping Ltd., care of the National Iranian Tanker Co., a publicly traded company based in Tehran. The National Iranian Tanker Co. describes itself as operating the largest tanker fleet in the Middle East.</s>An Iranian oil tanker collided with a bulk freighter and caught fire off China's eastern coast, leaving its entire crew of 32 missing, most of them Iranians, authorities said Sunday.

The missing — 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis — are all from the tanker Sanchi, which spilled oil and was floating while still burning early Sunday, said Chinese maritime authorities, who dispatched police vessels and three cleaning ships to the scene.

Chinese state media carried pictures of the tanker on fire with smoke plumes daytime Sunday.

The South Korean coast guard also sent a ship and an airplane to aid the search effort.

The Panama-registered tanker was sailing from Iran to South Korea when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal 257 kilometres off the coast of Shanghai late Saturday, the Ministry of Transport said.

All 21 members of the Crystal's crew — all Chinese nationals — were rescued, the ministry said.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the collision.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 metric tons (150,000 tons) of condensate, a type of ultra-light oil, while the Crystal was carrying grain from the United States, according to Chinese authorities.

The size of the oil slick caused by the accident was not immediately known.

The tanker has operated under five different names in the time since it was built in 2008, according the UN-run International Maritime Organization. The IMO listed its registered owner as Hong Kong-based Bright Shipping Ltd., care of the National Iranian Tanker Co., a publicly traded company based in Tehran. The National Iranian Tanker Co. describes itself as operating the largest tanker fleet in the Middle East.

An official in Iran's Oil Ministry, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said 30 of the 32 crew members on the ship were Iranians.

"We have no information on their fate," he said. "We cannot say all of them have died, because rescue teams are there and providing services."

He said the tanker was owned by the National Iranian Tanker Co., and had been rented by a South Korean company, Hanwha Total Co. He said the tanker was on its way to South Korea.

Hanwa Total is a 50-50 partnership between the Seoul-based Hanwha Group and the French oil giant Total. Total did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It's the second collision for a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Co. in less than a year and a half. In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both ships but causing no injuries or oil spill.
Thirty-two sailors are missing after Iranian oil tanker MV Sanchi and Chinese freighter CF-Crystal collide off the east coast of China. The collision ignites the oil tanker, which carried a 136,000-tonne load.