Man arrested in connection with North Sea ships collision

A 59-year-old man has been arrested after an oil tanker and a cargo ship collided in the North Sea on Monday, police have said.

The Portuguese-flagged Solong collided with the US-registered tanker Stena Immaculate, off the East Yorkshire coast, at about 10:00 GMT on Monday.

Humberside Police said the man had been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision following searches for a missing crew member of the Solong.

The crew member from the cargo ship was still missing and presumed dead after a search and rescue operation ended on Monday evening, according to Transport Minister Mike Kane.

Police said they had begun a criminal investigation into the cause of the collision and was working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch was also undertaking a parallel preliminary assessment to establish the causes of the crash, police said.

Det Ch Supt Craig Nicholson said: “Humberside Police have taken primacy for the investigation of any potential criminal offences which arise from the collision between the two vessels.”

He said the arrested man was in custody.

“Following inquiries undertaken by my team, we have arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision.

“This follows the conclusion of search operations by HM Coastguard for the missing crew member of the Solong.

“Our thoughts are with the family of the missing crew member, and I have appointed family liaison officers to make contact and provide support to the family.”

Smoke is continuing to billow from Solong.

The ship’s German owner, Ernst Russ, said it was supporting the missing crew member’s family.

It also confirmed there were no containers on board carrying sodium cyanide, as had been initially feared.

Crowley, the maritime company managing Stena Immaculate, said the vessel was struck by Solong while anchored off the coast of Hull, causing “multiple explosions” on board and an unknown quantity of jet fuel to be released.

The firm said Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel in 16 segregated cargo tanks, at least one of which was ruptured when it was struck.

Earlier, Kane told the House of Commons the “working assumption” was that one crew member from the cargo ship had died.