(Yicai Global) Jan.15 -- The Panama-registered Iranian oil tanker Sanchi sunk off the East China Sea following a big explosion yesterday. Oil spilled from the ship still burns in the area, forming a 10-square kilometer oil slick zone.

The Sanchi sunk at 28°22' N and 125°55' E, about 151 nautical miles southeast of the area where it collided with a freighter on Jan. 6 in what was the first big oil tanker disaster and marine oil spill in the world's oceans this year. Oil spilled from the ship still burns in the area and formed a 10-square kilometer oil slick zone, CCTV News learned from Shanghai maritime search and rescue center.

The Sanchi collided with the Hong Kong-registered CF Crystal freighter at about 160 nautical miles east of the mouth of the Yangtze River. It was carrying about 136,000 tons of condensate oil. The accident set it ablaze, with 32 crew members went missing. Four search and rescue teams from Shanghai search and rescue center were sent to Sanchi on Jan. 13 to inspect ship's deck, bridge and other areas, and found two bodies and retrieved the "black box."

It not clear yet how much damage the oil spill will cause to the environment. Condensate oil, also known as natural gasoline, is a liquid component and several foreign media organizations said the incident may be more serious than any marine oil spill in history. Fishing may be prohibited for a long period of time within hundreds of kilometers radius of the area.

Offshore water of the East China Sea is the most important offshore fishing area in China, where more than 300,000 tons are caught annually. However, the vast majority of fishery resources in the East China Sea are concentrated in the southeastern part of the mouth of the Yangtze River. If large-scale condensate oil leakage occurs, it will seriously affect the fishery in the East China Sea.