TEHRAN – The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been asked by Iran to investigate the recent tragic incident in which an oil tanker operated by the National Iranian Tanker Company burned and sank off the coast of China.

The request was made by Iran’s Ambassador to London Hamid Baidinejad in response to a letter of condolence by IMO chief Kitack Lim.

The incident happened on January 6 when the Panamanian-flagged, Iranian-owned tanker Sanchi, with a full natural-gas condensate cargo of 136,000 tons (960,000 barrels), sailing from Iran to South Korea, collided with the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship CF Crystal 160 nautical miles (300 km) off Shanghai, China. 32 sailors lost their lives in the incident. 

Thanking Lim for IMO’s efforts to help Iran in the wake of the incident, Baidinejad asked him to provide grounds for an international conference to technically discuss the circumstances of the collision and offer new findings and suggestions for the world shipping industry.

SP/PA