An empty oil tanker exploded and sank off the South Korean coast Jan.15, killing three crew members, maritime police said.
Fifteen other crew members were rescued before the 5,000-ton P-Harmony went down 30 miles south of Pusan, South Korea's largest port, officials said.
The cause of the explosion was under investigation. Phil Ocean, a Seoul-based company that owns the ship, said the tanker was empty when it sank but may have leaked some oil.
The ship had unloaded fuel oil at Ulsan, 15 miles northeast of Pusan, it said.