UK police arrest captain of cargo ship on suspicion of manslaughter over
North Sea collision
[March 12, 2025]
By JILL LAWLESS
LONDON (AP) — British police on Tuesday arrested the captain of a cargo
ship on suspicion of manslaughter as they searched for answers about why
it hit a tanker transporting jet fuel for the U.S. military off eastern
England, setting both vessels ablaze. One sailor was presumed dead in
the collision, which sparked fears of significant environmental damage.
Humberside Police said the 59-year-old was detained “on suspicion of
gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision.” He
wasn't named by the police and has not been charged.
The owner of the container carrier, shipping company Ernst Russ, said
the arrested man was the ship's master. It said he “and our entire team
are actively assisting with the investigations.”
The government said the cause of the collision was being investigated,
but there was no indication of foul play.
U.K. officials were watching for damage to birds and sea life after jet
fuel poured into the North Sea when the Portugal-registered Solong
broadsided the U.S.-flagged tanker MV Stena Immaculate on Monday. The
collision sparked explosions and fires that burned for more than 24
hours.
Footage filmed from a helicopter on Tuesday morning showed the fire
appeared to largely be out on the tanker, which had a large gash on its
port side.
The U.K. coast guard agency said Tuesday that the Solong was still
alight. It said the cargo ship, whose front end was crushed and
blackened, was drifting south, away from the tanker, and a 1 kilometer
(around a ½ mile) exclusion zone had been put in place around both
ships.
“No sign of pollution from vessels is observed at this time," Transport
Minister Mike Kane told lawmakers in the House of Commons.
The government said air quality readings were normal and the risk to
public health onshore was “very low.”
Kane initially said the Solong was expected to sink, but the government
said later that both vessels were likely to stay afloat.
The collision triggered a major rescue operation by lifeboats, coast
guard aircraft and commercial vessels in the foggy North Sea.
All but one of the 37 crew members from the two vessels were brought
safely ashore in the port of Grimsby, about 150 miles (240 kilometers)
north of London, with no major injuries. One crew member was missing,
and the coast guards called off the search late Monday.
“Our working assumption is that, very sadly, the sailor is deceased,"
Kane said.
The U.K. Marine Accident Investigation Branch has begun gathering
evidence of what caused the Solong, bound from Grangemouth, Scotland, to
Rotterdam, Netherlands, to hit the stationary tanker, which was anchored
about 10 miles (16 kilometers) off the English coast.
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Smoke billows from the MV Solong cargo ship in the North Sea, off
the Yorkshire coast, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in England. (Dan
Kitwood/Pool Photo via AP)
The investigation will be led by the U.S. and Portugal, the
countries where the vessels are flagged.
The 183-meter (596-foot) Stena Immaculate was operating as part of
the U.S. government’s Tanker Security Program, a group of commercial
vessels that can be contracted to carry fuel for the military when
needed. Its operator, U.S.-based maritime management firm Crowley,
said that it was carrying 220,000 barrels of Jet-A1 fuel in 16
tanks, at least one of which was ruptured.
The company said it was unclear how much fuel had leaked into the
sea.
The owner of the Solong said that contrary to earlier reports, the
vessel wasn't carrying containers of sodium cyanide, which can
produce harmful gas when combined with water. It said that four
empty containers had previously contained the chemical.
“Our team is actively engaged with all local authorities, and we
will work with cleanup teams to ensure every effort is made to
mitigate further impacts on the marine environment,” the company
said in a statement.
Greenpeace U.K. said it was too early to assess the extent of any
environmental damage from the collision, which took place near busy
fishing grounds and major seabird colonies.
Environmentalists said that oil and chemicals posed a risk to sea
life, including whales and dolphins and to birds, including puffins,
gannets and guillemots that live on coastal cliffs.
Tom Webb, senior lecturer in marine ecology and conservation at the
University of Sheffield, said that wildlife along that stretch of
coast “is of immense biological, cultural and economic importance.”
Alex Lukyanov, who models oil spills at the University of Reading,
said the environmental impact would depend on multiple factors,
including “the size of the spill, weather conditions, sea currents,
water waves, wind patterns and the type of oil involved.”
“This particular incident is troubling because it appears to involve
persistent oil, which breaks up slowly in water,” he said. “The
environmental toll could be severe.”
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