The Sanchi had a crew of 32 sailors at the time of the collision. The body of a mariner suspected to be from the ship was recovered last week and sent to Shanghai for identification. The rest of the crew, which included 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis are unaccounted for.

Even as  week-long rescue efforts continues following the tanker’s collision,  such efforts have been ruined by poor weather, including 3-metre (10 feet) high waves and strong winds, and toxic fumes from the burning oil as the stricken Iranian oil tanker Sanchi keeps exploding, hampering efforts to extinguish the fire and rescue survivors,  as the blaze rages and anxiety mounts that the ship may break up and sink

Dozens of the rescue boats were forced to retreat from dousing the tanker with foam on Wednesday due to an explosion.

The tanker Sanchi (IMO:9356608), owned by Iran’s top oil shipping operator National Iranian Tanker Co, was carrying almost 1 million barrels of condensate, an ultra-light, highly flammable crude oil, to South Korea.

It collided with the freighter CF Crystal (IMO:9497050) that was carrying grain from the United States about 160 nautical miles (184 km) off China’s coast near Shanghai.

Meanwhile, the ship has drifted from the Chinese coast into Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The Sanchi had a crew of 32 sailors at the time of the collision. The body of a mariner suspected to be from the ship was recovered last week and sent to Shanghai for identification. The rest of the crew, which included 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis are unaccounted for.