Biggest ever Oil spill feared in East China Sea as Tanker Sanchi continued to ablaze

There are fears of an environmental disaster in the East China Sea as  tanker Sanchi continues leaking oil two days after colliding with a cargo ship CF Crystal.
Concerns were growing that the tanker, which  burst into flames, may explode and sink.

The size of the oil spill from the ship and the extent of the environmental harm were not known, but the disaster has the potential to be the worst ever unintentional Oil spill.

The tanker had been carrying an ultra-light form of oil known as condensate which in the case of a spill can be more dangerous for the environment than regular crude.

The Sanchi was carrying 150,000 tons — or nearly 1 million barrels — of condensate, a type of ultra-light oil, according to Chinese authorities.

By comparison, the Exxon Valdez was carrying 1.26 million barrels of crude oil when it spilled 260,000 barrels into Prince William Sound off Alaska in 1989.

Sanchi can spill more than three times the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, which is considered one of the world's worst environmental disasters.

Condensate is certainly very toxic. It is both colour- and odour-less, and a lot harder to detect, contain and clean up than heavy crudes.

"If she sinks with a lot of cargo intact, then you have a time bomb on the sea bed which will slowly release the condensate."

China has deployed several ships to carry out search-and-rescue operations while South Korea has also sent a coast guard ship and a helicopter.

Some biggest oil spill disasters are listed here

• The Atlantic Empress and Aegean Captain collided off Trinidad and Tobago in 1979. The Atlantic Empress exploded and 26 crew members died. The 90 million gallon oil spill is a record from ships
• The ABT Summer exploded off Angola in 1991, spilling about 80 million gallons over 200 sq km
  The Castillo de Bellver caught fire and broke apart off Cape Town, spilling 78 million gallons
• The Amoco Cadiz spilled almost 69 million gallons after running aground off Brittany in France in 1978
  The Torrey Canyon hit a reef off Cornwall, England, in 1967, spilling 36 million gallons of crude and affecting almost 200 miles of coastline
• The Exxon Valdez only spilled 11 million gallons in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in 1989 but was a major environmental disaster