BEIJING: China has planned to deploy robots to probe the wreckage of the Iranian oil tanker which exploded off its coast five days ago, spilling huge amount of condensate oil, according to a media report today.
Officials spotted four oil slicks and planned to send robots to the wreckage to assess the environmental damage, the state-run Global Times said.
China's transport ministry said Wednesday that the vessel, which exploded, lay at a depth of around 115 metres and that robots would be deployed to explore the shipwreck.
The ship Sanchi, which was carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil from Iran, sank in a ball of flames in the East China Sea on Sunday, a week after colliding with Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter the CF Crystal.
So far, three bodies of have been found. The ship carried 32 sailors, including 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.
Chinese State Oceanic Administration said that it was monitoring four slicks with a total area of almost 101 square kilometers, roughly the same size as Paris.
The office is attempting to "control the spread of the oil spill and is carrying out work to estimate its impact on the marine ecological environment," it said.
The type of condensate oil carried by the the tanker Sanchi does not form a traditional surface slick when spilt but is nonetheless highly toxic to marine life and much harder to separate from water, the Global Times report said.
"The swathe of oil slick is being diffused and disappearing," the coast guard said in a statement. "Chinese and other patrol ships continue to look for missing [crew] members and carrying out oil removal missions.".