“桑吉”号在东海爆燃沉没, 专家: 对环境影响不大

The Iranian tanker went down on Sunday, nearly eight days after it collided with a bulk freighter on the evening of January 6th, some 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai.

1月6日晚，在上海以东约160海里的地方，一艘伊朗油轮与一艘散货船相撞，在近8天后的星期天（1月14日）晚上，这艘油轮沉没。

The tanker was carrying around 136,000 tons of a light crude oil known as "condensate" to South Korea when the collision took place.

发生碰撞时，这艘油轮装载了约13.6万吨被称为“凝析油”的轻质原油前往韩国。

This created a subsequent fire which burned for over a week before an explosion on Sunday morning sealed the ship’s fate.

这造成了随后燃烧了一个星期的大火，以及星期天上午决定了它的命运的大爆炸。

Chinese chemical expert He Wang says the overall impact from the fire has had little effect on the environment.

中国化学专家He Wang说，总体来说火灾对环境的影响不大。

"When condensate burns, it generates sulfur dioxide, which is a component of our air. The actual amount of sulpher in the condensate was around 0.26 percent, which means the ship was only carrying a few hundred tons of sulphide materials. Because it turns into sulfur dioxide, the condensate actually only weighs around only 1,000 tons. This is similar to the emissions of a power plant over just a few months."

“当冷凝物燃烧时，会产生二氧化硫，它是大气的一个组成部分。在凝析油中，硫化物的实际含量约为0.26%，这意味着该船只携带了几百吨硫化物材料。因为它变成了二氧化硫，凝析油实际上只重约1000吨。这类似于发电厂在短短几个月内的排放量。”

Besides the impact on the atmosphere, pollution affecting the fishing industry is also among the concerns.

除了对大气的影响外，它对渔业的污染也引起了关注。

The Zhoushan fishing ground, off the coast of Zhejiang province, is about 350 kilometers from where the tanker sank.

位于浙江沿海的舟山渔场距离油轮沉没的地方约350公里。

The fishing ground is one of the largest in the East China Sea. And the East China Sea was China’s biggest fishing ground in 2016 with a catch of about 5 million tons.

舟山渔场是东海最大的渔场之一。而东海是中国2016年最大的渔场，渔获量约为500万吨。

Chinese maritime authorities have reported signs of expanding oil spills near the sunken vessel.

中国海事部门报告称，有迹象显示，在沉船附近发生了石油泄漏。

However, experts say most of the condensate, a volatile crude oil, may have been burnt in the fire, while most of the spilled oil will evaporate into the air.

然而，专家们表示，凝析油是一种挥发性的原油，其中大部分可能在火灾中被烧毁，而大部分泄漏的石油会蒸发到空气中。

According to some estimates, a proportion of the spilled condensate will dissolve into the water, and this will be toxic until it dilutes enough to be broken down by natural processes.

根据一些估计，泄漏的凝析液中有一部分会溶解到水里，它将会一直会毒，直到它稀释到足以被自然过程分解的程度。

The process should be quite quick.

这个稀释过程应当很快。

A chief ship officer says the the contamination is likely to be limited.

一名高级船员称，污染是有限的。

"The condensate will have an initial impact on the livelihood of fish around the immediate area. However, this is only going to affect aquatic life near the surface. Condensate is light, and evaporates, meaning its not going to go deep into the ocean."

“这些凝析油将对附近鱼类的生活产生最初的影响，不过，它只会影响到水面附近的水生生物。凝析油很轻，并且会被蒸发，这意味着它不会深入海洋。”

Despite the minimal effects on the environment, the incident has taken a human toll.

尽管对环境的影响微乎其微，但该事件还是造成了人员伤亡。

All 32 crewmembers aboard the vessel, including 30 Iranians and two from Bangladesh, have been declared dead.

这艘船上的32名船员，包括30名伊朗人和两名孟加拉国人，已被宣布死亡。

Only three bodies were recovered before the Sanchi went down.

在这艘“桑吉号”邮轮沉没前，仅找到了三具尸体。

The rest of the crew is believed to have been trapped inside the ship when the fire broke out.

其他船员据信应当是在火灾发生时被困船内。

Rescue crews were able to retrieve the tanker’s audio voice recorders - the maritime version of a black box.

救援人员找回了邮轮的音频录音机——海事版的黑匣子。