A cargo ship smashed into a US-flagged oil tanker carrying jet fuel off the northeast coast of England on Monday, March 10, sparking a huge fire, a dramatic rescue effort and fears of environmental damage.
One person was being treated in hospital but the 36 other crew members from both ships were “safe and accounted for,” said Graham Stuart, a local Member of Parliament, after the coastguard sent a helicopter, lifeboats and fire-fighting vessels from nearby towns.
Just before 10 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET), a Portuguese-flagged container ship called the Solong careered into the oil tanker, called the Stena Immaculate, which was at anchor in the North Sea about 10 miles off the English coastline, according to the ship tracking tool VesselFinder.
Videos of the incident showed black plumes of smoke billowing into the sky and at least one of the vessels engulfed by flames.
Crowley, a US logistics firm that manages the Stena Immaculate, said there were “multiple explosions on board” after it was struck by the Solong. It confirmed that all members of its crew were safe.
The Solong left the Scottish port of Grangemouth on Sunday evening and was headed for Rotterdam, the Netherlands, at the time of the collision, according to Vessel Finder.
Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the nearby Port of Grimsby East, told CNN earlier Monday that he had seen 32 people being brought ashore and that ambulances had been waiting to receive them.
It was not immediately clear how or why the collision occurred.
“It seems a mystery because all the vessels now have very highly sophisticated technical equipment to plot courses and to look at any obstacles or anything they’ve got to avoid,” Boyers said.
“It’s difficult to suggest what went on, other than the fact it should never have happened,” he added.
The Stena Immaculate is part of a fleet of 10 tankers involved in a US government program to supply its military with fuel. The Department of Defence’s “Tanker Security Program,” according to Crowley, “ensures a commercial fleet can readily transport liquid fuel supplies in times of need.”
Crowley said in a statement that the Stena Immaculate had “sustained a ruptured cargo tank containing Jet-A1 fuel” due to the collision. It had anchored off the English coast after leaving the Greek port of Agioi Theodoroi last month, according to VesselFinder.
A flurry of high-speed ships and tugboats were seen moving toward the site of the collision at the time of the coastguard’s rescue operation, real-time data from VesselFinder showed.
Greenpeace UK said the “high speed of the collision and the footage of the aftermath are cause for great concern,” but stressed it is “too early to assess the extent of any environmental damage.”
A spokesperson said its potential impact relies on a number of factors, including the amount and type of oil carried by the tanker.
“In the case of an oil spill or any loss of hazardous cargo from the container ship involved, the speed of the response will also be crucial in limiting any impact,” the spokesperson said.
