Collision Oil tanker Sanchi, 2018

Two ships saw each other for twenty minutes and neither turned. The tanker burned for a week.

On the evening of 6 January 2018 the tanker Sanchi, loaded with 136,000 tonnes of condensate, collided with the bulk carrier CF Crystal in the East China Sea. Sanchi caught fire, burned for eight days and sank. All 32 people on board died. The 21 crew of CF Crystal survived.

Words in this case

crossing situation: Two power-driven vessels approaching so that one has the other on her starboard side.
give-way vessel: The vessel that must keep out of the way, early and substantially.
stand-on vessel: The vessel that keeps course and speed, but must act if the other does not.
proper look-out: Watching by sight, hearing and radar all the time, and assessing the risk.
condensate: A very light, volatile oil that ignites easily.

More words like these in the glossary and in listening practice.

What happened

Sanchi was bound from Iran to South Korea; CF Crystal from the United States to China. In clear weather and good visibility the two ships approached each other in a crossing situation. Both were visible on radar and AIS for a long time. Neither ship altered course or speed enough, and neither made contact by radio in time.

The bulk carrier struck the tanker's side. Condensate, a very light and volatile oil, ignited at once. The fire spread across Sanchi's deck and accommodation; nobody could be rescued from her. She drifted burning for days, exploded, and sank about 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai. Two bodies were recovered from a lifeboat by a salvage team; the rest of the crew were lost with the ship.

A joint investigation by China, Panama, Hong Kong and Iran found that both bridges failed to keep a proper look-out and to take early action under the collision regulations: the give-way vessel held her course and speed, and the stand-on vessel did not act when it became clear the other was not giving way.

Why it happened

Neither bridge kept a proper look-out by sight and radar, and neither assessed the risk of collision in time.
The give-way vessel did not take early and substantial action; the stand-on vessel waited too long to act herself.
A volatile cargo turned a collision into an unsurvivable fire within seconds.

What to remember on board

Rule 5 and Rule 7: look, plot, decide. If the bearing is steady and the range is falling, there is risk of collision, whatever the other ship "should" do.
Give-way means early, substantial, obvious action; stand-on means ready to act the moment the other ship clearly is not.
On a tanker with light cargo, the collision is the fire. Prevention is the only plan.
A radio call is not a substitute for a course change; if you call, be clear, and act anyway.

Three questions

The kind of questions a knowledge test asks about this case. Keys 1 to 4 answer, Enter goes on.

Source: Joint investigation report into the collision between M/T Sanchi and M/V CF Crystal, Maritime Safety Administration of China with Panama, Hong Kong and Iran, 2018.

On this site: COLREG give-way rules · Tankers.

Plain-English summary of an official investigation report. Facts and findings are the investigators'; the wording is ours. Nothing here is legal advice or a substitute for the report itself.