An explosion was recorded on board stricken National Iranian Tanker Company-operated Suezmax tanker Sanchi on Wednesday as it continues to burn, adding fears of the listing ship sinking.
The tanker was carrying 136,000 metric tonnes (mt) of condensate to South Korea when it was involved in a collision with Chinese freight ship CF Crystal on Saturday, according to Reuters.
The bunker fuel of a Suezmax tanker can typically contain 5,000 mt of fuel but traders have estimated approximately 1,000 mt of bunkers remaining in the vessel’s tanks during the accident.
Though the Chinese government noted the absence of any “large scale” oil leaks, authorities were concerned of the Sanchi breaking up and eventually releasing its bunker fuel content into the surrounding ocean.
An official with South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries believe the Sanchi could end up burning for as long as a month.
“We believe flames would last for two weeks or a month considering previous cases of oil tank accidents,” said official Park Sung-dong.
“What we are concerned about at this moment is the bunker fuel, which could contaminate water if [the ship] sinks.”
Chauncey Naylor, a US-based director of emergency response and training at Tyco Corp’s oil-fire specialists Williams Fire & Hazard Control, noted:
“The problem is the ship’s heavy bunker fuel.”
“It burns real slow and it’s heavy and will lay on the ocean and on any twisted metal and create heavy smoke. It’s the stuff that spills and gets on birds.”
Williams Fire & Hazard Control is not involved in the operation.
Photo credit: EPA / South Korea
Publication date: 11 January, 2018
Guide outlines the procedures required for the trial and permanent use of biofuels, and the cautions and measures to be taken in their handling.
Gulf Coast fuel oil production has recovered to pre-hurricane levels, and supply remains limited in Panama.
Scrubbers need to be refashioned to capture and store CO2 in a way that is cost competitive with low-carbon versions of ammonia, hydrogen and methanol as well as biofuels and LNG.
Ecoslops will provide services such as local integration and training whereas Marine Bunkers will collect and treat oily waste in Ghana and the Gulf of Guinea.
JAX LNG loaded the RLNG/LNG blend into the Clean Jacksonville bunker barge to fuel the Isla Bella operated by TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico.
Compared to a conventional oil-fuelled tanker, the new LNG-fuelled design reduces CO2 emissions by at least 20% offering increased autonomy without reducing the cargo volume.
Session will provide insights on bunker quality issues from a bunker supplier, shipping company and surveyor, as well as providing insight and guidance on legal and dispute resolution issues.
Gealubes Consulting & Trading, the authorised marine business distributor of PANOLIN EALs at Singapore port, shares a two-part education series on Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants on Manifold Times.
Danny Lee Chee Keong was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment over the theft of MFO from the Consort Bunkers owned and operated bunker tanker at the sea off Eastern Petroleum ‘B’ anchorage.
‘Metcore’s MFM+ Program exemplifies serious oil suppliers and buyers who advocate fair trading using a recognised and widely-accepted technology,’ highlights Darrick Pang, Managing Director of Metcore.
‘The victim is Consort Bunkers Pte Ltd, the owner of the Pearl Melody,’ states the joint statement of facts (SOF) document obtained by Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times.
Between November 2016 and October 2017, Mr Tan falsified at least 20 invoices and submitted these invoices to UOB and OCBC, according to court documents obtained by bunkering publication Manifold Times.
