Evidence about what led to the collision and subsequent sinking of an NITC suezmax tanker off China last week may not be known until April.

“Deciphering the black box will take one to three months,” Hadi Haqshenas, the deputy managing director of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO), told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

“The black box of the vessel was sealed in the presence of the PMO, Panama and China's representatives to go through the legal process to be deciphered later with the presence of the benefactors’ committee.”