MNA – Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has ordered the National Security Commission to pursue the case of the ablaze Sanchi oil tanker with 29 remaining crew members still missing off China’s east coast since Jan. 6.


Ali Larijani noted the nation’s concerns over the unknown fate of the still missing crew members on board of an Iranian oil tanker which collided with a freighter off China’s east coast on January 6, and ordered the Parliament’s National Security Commission to pursue the case through various mechanisms.

Larijani announced that Iranian crisis staff has become involved in the case with the help of Chinese government, calling on the security commission to spare no efforts in investigating the tragic incident.

The Panama-registered Iranian oil tanker, Sanchi, with 32 crew members on board, caught on fire after colliding with a Hong Kong cargo ship on Jan. 6, 160 nautical miles (296 km) from China’s east coast.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 tons of condensate, worth some $60 million, and bound for the Republic of Korea.

On Saturday, two more bodies of the crew members were found and the ‘black box’ was retrieved. The first body had been found on Monday, which now leaves the number of the remaining crew members at 29.

Meanwhile, Iranian commando forces who have been stationed at Port of Shanghai since Thursday, have received the go-ahead to board the ablaze vessel in search of survivors.