SHANA – Firefighting operations to extinguish a burning Iran oil tanker in the East China Sea has begun and rescue teams will enter the tanker as soon the blaze is controlled, National Iranian Tanker Company says.

Spokesman of an emergency committee of the Iranian tanker collision with a Chinese balk freighter, Captain Mohsen Bahrami said two fireboats are fighting the fire that has gripped that tanker since Saturday after it collided with the CF Crystal (IMO:9497050), carrying grain from the United States, about 160 nautical miles (300 km) off China’s coast near Shanghai.

Bahrami said a number of other fireboats will join the firefighting operation soon.

"Saving the missing tanker crew is NITC's first priority for the time being and all the available equipment inside or outside of Iran have been mobilized to find them," he said.