---
title: "New Iran Sanctions Accidentally Target Oil Tanker That Sank Months Ago"
description: "Swept up in the financial dragnet is an old, rusted oil tanker called the Sanchi, one of hundreds of Iranian ships, individuals, and companies banned from doing business with American interests."
date: "2018-11-06"
modified: "2018-11-06"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/24736/new-iran-sanctions-accidentally-target-oil-tanker-that-sank-months-ago"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Iran"
  - "Oil"
  - "Sanctions"
  - "Ships"
  - "Shipwreck"
---

# New Iran Sanctions Accidentally Target Oil Tanker That Sank Months Ago

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/11/sanchi.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

The U.S. government formally re-imposed a series of harsh economic sanctions on Iran on Monday as the Trump administration continues to toughen its stance on the regime and roll back the Obama-era nuclear deal. Swept up in the financial dragnet is an old, rusted oil tanker called the *Sanchi,* one of hundreds of Iranian ships, individuals, and companies banned from doing business with American interests. [Except *Bloomberg* reports](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-05/iranian-tanker-that-sank-months-ago-among-ships-hit-by-sanctions>) that officials might have trouble finding it: the *Sanchi* went down in flames and sank to the bottom of the East China Sea in January.

There are over 700 entities on the new sanctions list, available for perusal [on the U.S. Treasury's website.](<https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20181105_names.aspx>) The targets range from individuals to banks to oil tankers, and *Bloomberg* first noticed that the *Sanchi* named on the list appeared to be the very same one owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company that sank after a collision with another freighter last winter. A quick check of tracking data and the vessel's International Maritime Organization number confirmed that was indeed the case.

https://youtube.com/embed/uNmS41cftv8

[A *Reuters* report](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-shipping-accident-japan/burning-iranian-oil-tanker-sinks-after-january-6-accident-chinese-state-tv-idUSKBN1F309G>) from January details the ship's tragic end. The *Sanchi* was carrying around 1 million barrels of highly-flammable crude oil condensate when it collided with a Chinese freighter hauling grain a few hundred miles off the coast of Shanghai on January 6. The tanker quickly caught on fire and began to burn uncontrollably, drifting for a week before a final explosion sent its crippled hull under the waves.

All 32 crew members, 30 of whom were Iranian nationals, were killed. A great oil slick bloomed over the sea's delicate ecosystem, the worst toxic spill from a tanker in decades. Though the accident happened in international waters, both Japanese and Chinese officials spent weeks responding to the disaster and trying to stop the oil from reaching their territories. Iran later blamed the Chinese vessel for causing the collision.

Of course, it's not like the Trump administration is worried about the *Sanchi* rising from the depths and sneaking off with some illicit crude. This is more a case of someone forgetting to update the list—though frankly, neither conclusion inspires much faith in government bureaucracy.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)