The United Kingdom’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency is continuing to support the joint response to the scene of Monday’s collision between the Portuguese-flagged cargo vessel Solong and the US-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate.
One crew member remains missing and is now believed to be dead and 36 were rescued after the cargo ship crashed into the oil tanker in the North Sea near Hull off the coast of England.
The vessels are reported to have collided in foggy weather with low visibility at around 10h00. The tanker, which was at anchor when it was struck by the Solong, was carrying 220 000 barrels of jet fuel in segregated cargo tanks for the US military.
UK police have arrested the 59-year-old Russian master of the Solong, who may face charges of gross negligence and manslaughter over the crash.
MCA Chief Coastguard, Paddy O’Callaghan, said on Wednesday night that the agency was working closely with its partners to provide support to the salvage operation.
“While no fire is visible on the Stena Immaculate there are still small pockets of fire on the top deck of the Solong. Specialist vessels with firefighting capability continue to provide support to this aspect of the operation,” said O’Callaghan.
He said the Solong had been towed to a safe location while the Stena Immaculate remained at anchor at its original location.
“Three aerial surveillance flights have taken place today and these have not indicated any pollution on the surface of the water attributable to either of the casualty vessels.
“HM Coastguard’s Counter Pollution and Salvage team has a comprehensive counter-pollution response in place should it be required. Salvors will conduct on-board assessments of the vessels as soon as they are safe to board.”
The Stena Immaculate had earlier travelled from a Greek port to Hull before anchoring in UK waters. The Solong was heading south to the Netherlands from Scotland when it crashed into the tanker.
The UK's Maritime Accident Investigation Branch is assessing the crash.
