Ship collision report faults both vessels; proximate cause disputed

The Ministry of Transport released the results of a joint investigation on Wednesday dealing with the sinking of an oil tanker in the East China Sea in January.

As leader of the accident investigation, China submitted the report to the International Maritime Organization on May 11. It was subsequently published online.

The Panama-registered Sanchi, which was owned by an Iranian company and carried 111,300 metric tons of highly flammable condensate oil, collided with a Hong Kong freighter, CR Crystal, on Jan 6 about 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai and caught fire. On Jan 14, the ship exploded and sank. The freighter was also severely damaged.