Seafood supply may be hit as Sanchi oil spill spreads in East China Sea
Pollution from sunken tanker adds to stress on damaged ecosystem and it could mean China will be more reliant on imports of fish, marine scientist says
Marine life in the East China Sea is at risk of heavy metal contamination from the Iranian oil tanker spill, but scientists say its impact on the seafood supply is unclear given that fish stocks in the area have been depleted.
Concerns remain over the scale of environmental damage after the Sanchi exploded and sank on Sunday, likely releasing toxic bunker fuel that powered the ship’s engines and its cargo of light crude, polluting waters in the area.
The Panama-registered tanker collided with Chinese freighter CF Crystal 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai on January 6. It caught fire and lost power after the collision, drifting southeast before it exploded and sank midway between China’s Zhejiang province and Japan’s Ryukyu Islands.
Late on Monday, China’s State Oceanic Administration said the oil slick from the tanker had grown to five times the size it was a few days before.
A 14.8km slick was found 7.2km southwest of the site on Monday morning, and another 18.2km slick was found east of the site at noon, the maritime authority said in a statement.