Tanker inferno in the North Sea Police arrest cargo ship captain - suspected of negligent homicide
There was a collision between two ships off the coast of England near the city of Hull.
Image: X
According to reports, one of them belonged to the US-flagged Stena Immaculate fleet.
Image: KEYSTONE
Images from witnesses show large fires on the high seas.
Image: X
British coastguard forces are trying to bring the situation under control.
Image: X
There was a collision between two ships off the coast of England near the city of Hull.
Image: X
According to reports, one of them belonged to the US-flagged Stena Immaculate fleet.
Image: KEYSTONE
Images from witnesses show large fires on the high seas.
Image: X
British coastguard forces are trying to bring the situation under control.
Image: X
A cargo ship rams a tanker off the coast of England: 32 people are injured and jet fuel is spilled. The tanker was apparently chartered by the US military. The Russian captain of the freighter was arrested.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- An oil tanker was rammed by a cargo ship off the coast of East Yorkshire on Monday morning, causing a fire to break out.
- The oil tanker was sailing under a US flag and carrying aircraft fuel for the US military.
- 36 crew members from both ships were brought ashore safely, one person was taken to hospital.
- The search for the only missing crew member was called off on Tuesday night.
- The captain of the cargo ship has since been arrested. According to his shipping company, the 59-year-old is a Russian national.
Two huge, partly burnt-out shipwrecks lie off the English North Sea coast after a serious collision. The authorities are currently investigating the cause of Monday's accident.
On Tuesday evening, the police arrested the 59-year-old captain of the container ship "Solong", who had rammed the anchored tanker "Stena Immaculate". There is suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and gross negligence.
According to the shipping company, the man is Russian. The 14-strong crew of the "Solong" consisted of Russians and Filipinos, according to the German shipping company Ernst Russ.
According to the British coastguard, the fires on the oil tanker "Stena Immaculate" have now been contained. There are "no more visible flames" on board, it said. An investigation could possibly be carried out on the ship in the course of Wednesday.
The search for the only missing crew member had already been called off on Tuesday night. The missing person from the container ship "Solong" had not been found "after an extensive search", the British coastguard announced according to media reports. 36 crew members from both ships were brought safely ashore and one person was taken to hospital.
Collision of unexplained cause
The oil tanker "Stena Immaculate" was rammed by the cargo ship "Solong" in the busy area on Monday morning for reasons that have not yet been clarified and caught fire. According to the shipping company Crowley, aircraft fuel leaked during the accident.
The Coast Guard announced that necessary measures against environmental pollution were being examined. According to the coastguard, both ships were still on fire twelve hours after the collision.
According to the BBC, the anchored tanker was carrying fuel for the US military. The "Stena Immaculate" sails under the US flag, the "Solong" under the Portuguese flag.
Several explosions on board the tanker
According to information from Washington, the "Stena Immaculate" has been temporarily chartered by the Military Sealift Command, explained its spokeswoman Jillian Morris on Monday. The command operates ships with civilian crews that carry out sea transports for the US Department of Defense.
The operator of the tanker, the Florida-based US shipping company Crowley, announced that there had been "numerous explosions" on board. A tank had also been damaged and was reportedly leaking kerosene. It was not initially known how much and what consequences this could have.
The cause of the collision is still unknown. Photos and videos of the accident site showed thick clouds of smoke. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was an "extremely worrying situation". Without knowing any further details, there is no speculation about the cause of the accident.
Cause of the accident not yet known
It is too early to speculate on the cause of the accident, said Erik Hanell, Managing Director of the shipping company Stena Bulk. The company Crowley, which manages the technology of the "Stena Immaculate", told X that the tanker was at anchor when it was rammed by the freighter.
A tank containing the aircraft fuel had been damaged and a fire had broken out. The port manager of Grimsby, Marty Boyers, reported a huge fireball after the collision. "Fortunately, a ship was already on the scene to ferry the crew."
The chairman of the city council of the nearby city of Hull spoke on the BBC of a "devastating" situation. The potential environmental consequences are worrying and work needs to be done "very quickly" in the coming days to understand them. The Coastguard is examining whether and what measures may be required to combat environmental threats.
Dramatic radio message triggers alarm
Websites that track ship routes in great detail show how several ships are in the vicinity. The first alarm was raised shortly before 11 a.m. CET.
British Transport Minister Heidi Alexander wrote on X that she was "concerned" and in contact with the authorities and the coastguard. She thanked all the rescue workers involved for their efforts. The rescue operations are being hampered by the difficult conditions at sea.
According to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), several people have abandoned the ships. There are reports of fires on both ships and, according to BBC sources, the oil tanker is on fire.
As reported by "20 Minuten", a dramatic radio message is said to have documented the moment of the evacuation.
A spokesman for the Humber Coastguard reported: "'Solong' has collided with the tanker 'Stena Immaculate' in the outer anchorage zone. Both vessels are abandoned. Vessels with fire-fighting or rescue equipment should report to the Humber Coastguard. The 'Stena Immaculate' is carrying aircraft fuel, which is now burning and leaking into the water."
Environmentalists are deeply concerned
The environmental organization Greenpeace in the UK said it was monitoring the reports closely. "Both the high speed and the videos of the consequences give cause for great concern," said a spokesperson when asked by the German Press Agency.
However, it is still too early to assess the environmental consequences. The collision occurred in important fishing grounds in the North Sea and close to large colonies of seabirds.
If the tanker had been carrying crude oil, the consequences would probably be far worse, said expert Mark Hartl from the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. The aircraft fuel would probably evaporate quickly.
This text was updated with agency material after initial publication.