International US-flagged Aviation Fuel Tanker and Portuguese Container Ship on Fire after Collision off East Yorkshire

[650lb Sumo]

Spoiler: Link

One person in hospital but all crew accounted for after North Sea ships collide, says local MP – as it happened

Owner of US-flagged tanker MV Stena Immaculate says all crew accounted for after collision with Rotterdam-bound cargo vessel Solong

www.theguardian.com

• 32 casualties have been brought ashore in Grimsby, after an oil tanker and a cargo vessel collided about 10 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire.
• Lifeboats and a coastguard helicopter were called to the collision in the Humber estuary [sic] on Monday morning, believed to involve a US-flagged tanker called the MV Stena Immaculate, and a Rotterdam-bound cargo vessel the Solong.
• A HM Coastguard spokesperson said “The alarm was raised at 9.48am”. They said “A coastguard rescue helicopter from Humberside was called, alongside lifeboats from Skegness, Bridlington, Maplethorpe and Cleethorpes, an HM Coastguard fixed wing aircraft, and nearby vessels with fire-fighting capability. The incident remains ongoing.”
• Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “I’m concerned to hear of the collision between two vessels in the North Sea this morning and am liaising with officials and HM Coastguard as the situation develops.”
• Not all of the crew of the two ships is believed to be accounted for yet. Tracking data appears to show the Solong hit the Stena Immaculate when she was anchored.
• Chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East, Martyn Boyers says that he was told a 'massive fireball' was seen after the collision. Video footage appears to show the aftermath with the vessels on fire.

Alexander

Update
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[650lb Sumo]

Update

Spoiler: Links

Oil tanker crash off UK sparks security fears as 'US not ruling out foul play'

The US-flagged MC Stena Immaculate was hit by Portuguese cargo ship, the Solong, while anchored in the Humber Estuary in Hull this morning, as a US official gives an update

www.mirror.co.uk

Oil tanker crash in North Sea LIVE: Coastguard ends missing crew member search

An ongoing emergency incident is underway.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

North Sea latest: At least 32 casualties after oil tanker and cargo ship collide

HM Coastguard say a rescue helicopter and multiple lifeboats have been deployed after MV Solong collides with US-flagged Stena Immaculate

www.independent.co.uk

All the crew of the Stena Immaculate are safe. 32 casualties have been brought ashore, and their condition is unknown. Some of the crew of the Solong are missing.

The Stena Immaculate has sunk.

...in a stunning update, a senior official at the White House has said foul play 'has not been ruled out', gCaptain reported. They did not go into any detail as to what this may mean.

Firefighting

The Stena Immaculate is a US-flagged oil and chemical tanker that had left a Greek port in the Aegean Sea before arriving in Hull. It's owned by Sweden's Stena Sphere.

The ship was constructed in 2017.

According to the website VesselFinder, the Solong was on en route to the port of Rotterdam, Netherlands and was expected to get there this evening.

It left Grangemouth just after 8pm on Sunday evening, March 9, and had been docked there for 22 hours before it left for Europe, making its way down the Firth of Forth and into the North Sea.

The vessel regularly docks at Grangemouth every few days, according to recent port call data.

The latest ship position shows it has stopped off the coast of Hull.

The Solong is a container ship that was build in 2005 and sails under the flag of Maderia. It is part of a programme by the US Department of Defence and the US Maritime Administration which is capable of transporting oil for the US army in 'times of need'.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

This is pretty near me. We've got seals and stuff off the coast so hopefully they're not effected.

 

[Thrawn33]

...in a stunning update, a senior official at the White House has said foul play 'has not been ruled out', gCaptain reported. They did not go into any detail as to what this may mean.

I mean, if you don't have details yet that's a fair call to make...but I'd consider it highly unlikely.

Between AIS and Radar that potential collision alarm would be screaming on both vessels miles out.

Gut says another case of the captains refusing to believe risk of collision existed until it was too late.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Update Two

 

[syct23]

This is pretty near me. We've got seals and stuff off the coast so hopefully they're not affected.

Had…

 

[650lb Sumo]

Update Three

Spoiler: Links

Everything you need to know about North Sea cargo ship and tanker collision - as man arrested and missing sailor presumed dead

In the North Sea, a US-flagged oil tanker called the Stena Immaculate and the Solong - a container ship sailing under a Portuguese flag - collided and burst into flames. Here's everything we know about the crash and casualties.

news.sky.com

SOLONG, Container Ship - Details and current position - IMO 9322554 - VesselFinder

Vessel SOLONG (IMO 9322554, MMSI 255805837) is a Container Ship built in 2005 and currently sailing under the flag of Portugal (Madeira).

www.vesselfinder.com

STENA IMMACULATE, Chemical/Oil Products Tanker - Details and current position - IMO 9693018 - VesselFinder

Vessel STENA IMMACULATE (IMO 9693018, MMSI 368108000) is a Chemical/Oil Products Tanker built in 2017 and currently sailing under the flag of United States (USA).

www.vesselfinder.com

WATCH: AIS data reconstruction video of the collision between oil STENA IMMACULATE and container ship SOLONG in the North Sea

AIS data reconstruction of the collision between the US-flagged oil tanker ship STENA IMMACULATE and the Portuguese-flagged container ship SOLONG in the North Sea. The container ship Solong collided with the anchored oil tanker Stena Immaculate at ...

www.vesselfinder.com

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ing-jet-fuel-hit-cargo-ship-burst-flames.html

Collision and Data

It appears the Stena Immaculate was at anchor, and the Solong went straight into her on autopilot.

How the crew of the Solong could not have seen, with their eyes, or on their navigation equipment, an anchored ship dead ahead, and missed the collision alarms and radio calls from the Stena Immaculate is unknown. Unless they crashed on purpose.

One RNLI sailor said that there was thick fog at the scene. However as you can see there isn't in the pictures. Maybe it thinned between the crash and the pictures being taken.

Solong

Length 463'
Beam 72'
Draught 21'
Gross Tonnage 7,728


Stena Immaculate

Length 600'
Beam 105'
Draught 32'
Gross Tonnage 29,383


Crew

All 37 crew from both vessels have been brought ashore alive. One is in hospital.


US Military Link and Cargo

It has been confirmed that the Stena Immaculate was carrying 142,000 barrels of jet fuel for the US military.

The Solong was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide.

The maximum payload of a shipping container is 26.3 tons.


Environmental Impact

The crash has prompted fears the oil leak could trigger a major environmental catastrophe, with campaigners warning it was 'too early to tell' just how severe the disaster could be.

Bempton Cliffs, situated about 35 miles further up the North Yorkshire coast, is home to the UK's largest mainland seabird colony and is of international importance.

Tourist attraction Bempton Cliffs has around half a million seabirds, including Gannets, Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Razorbills and Puffins, which breed on the 400ft high chalk cliffs.

It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Update Four

Spoiler: Links

North Sea collision: ship’s master arrested as fears grow for marine life

Police launch criminal investigation while local leaders call on Starmer to prevent environmental catastrophe

www.theguardian.com

North Sea - latest: Man arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter

Transport minister Mike Kane says Marine Accident Investigation Branch has been deployed to the site and begun its investigation

www.independent.co.uk

Man arrested over North Sea oil tanker fire

U.S. Stena Immaculate chemical tanker was carrying some 35 million liters of aviation fuel for the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command.

www.politico.eu

Cargo ship captain arrested over collision in North Sea, owner tells BBC

A Portuguese registered cargo ship and a US-flagged tanker collided off the East Yorkshire coast on Monday.

www.bbc.co.uk

Oil tanker collision: Cargo ship captain arrested as fears grow of mass fish die-off

The jet fuel that has leaked from the tanker in the North Sea will cause a mass fish die-off, experts have warned, as the captain of the Solong cargo ship was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

www.telegraph.co.uk

The Stena Immaculate has not sunk.

The Solong was not carrying Sodium Cyanide.

The Solong is still on fire. The Stena Immaculate is not.

The missing crewman is presumed dead.

Estimates of the amount of jet fuel on board the Stena Immaculate have varied quite a bit, with some as high as 35,000 tons.

A 59-year-old man [Edit: the Solong's captain] has been arrested on suspicion of Gross Negligence Manslaughter. Humberside Police are cooperating with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on an investigation. There are no suggestions of foul play.

The UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch is being assisted by the Portuguese Marine Safety Investigation Authority and the US Coast Guard in its evidence-gathering.

A specialist pollution control aircraft from the Kriegsmarine is also helping the (British) Coastguard, but the main pollution control efforts will only begin once the fire on the Stena Immaculate has been extinguished.

 

[Thrawn33]

Collision and Data

It appears the Stena Immaculate was at anchor, and the Solong went straight into her on autopilot.

How the crew of the Solong could not have seen, with their eyes, or on their navigation equipment, an anchored ship dead ahead, and missed the collision alarms and radio calls from the Stena Immaculate is unknown. Unless they crashed on purpose.

Ships have been struck at anchor before. Same way they run aground on marked shoals, or hit breakwalls or other fixed objects....shitty bridge management and/or mechanical failure.

Equipment is only as good as the person making the decisions based on it.

One RNLI sailor said that there was thick fog at the scene. However as you can see there isn't in the pictures. Maybe it thinned between the crash and the pictures being taken.

There is fog in those pictures. Thick fog, behind the vessels...fog can roll in and out with a quickness...not fun and creepy as shit.

If I got a contact on radar in low vis I'm disengaging autopilot until the object is padt and clear...

(My dumbass observation)
Based on the AIS track in the screen capture it looks like the struck vessel swung on its anchor and the other guy didn't recognize it, continued on what looked to be an overtaking track with a CPA of too fucking close.

 

[Son of Jamin]

So now we have evidence that jet fuel can melt steel boats…

 

[Xanzito]

A ship called Solong is now gone?
Ok, i'll control myself.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

A ship called Solong is now gone?
Ok, i'll control myself.

Solong as you remember to mourn those who passed away.

 

[Xanzito]

Solong as you remember to mourn those who passed away.

You're not helping me right now, i swear...

 

[Xanzito]

Ok, i lost.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Ships have been struck at anchor before. Same way they run aground on marked shoals, or hit breakwalls or other fixed objects....shitty bridge management and/or mechanical failure.

Equipment is only as good as the person making the decisions based on it.


There is fog in those pictures. Thick fog, behind the vessels...fog can roll in and out with a quickness...not fun and creepy as shit.

If I got a contact on radar in low vis I'm disengaging autopilot until the object is padt and clear...

(My dumbass observation)
Based on the AIS track in the screen capture it looks like the struck vessel swung on its anchor and the other guy didn't recognize it, continued on what looked to be an overtaking track with a CPA of too fucking close.

The Solong shouldn't have been within what, two miles of the Stena Immaculate. You're not supposed to bring large ships that close to each other under normal circumstances. AFAIK.

I did read that the Stena Immaculate was being operated by the US Navy and was anchored in a place where you're not supposed to anchor, but neither of those assertions has been confirmed. Without checking a chart it seems like the kind of place you would expect a ship to anchor, and in any case you would expect ships to be going back and forth from the Humber there.

Not that I'm a ship collision expert, but if it wasn't foul play, the level of negligence/incompetence needed for this to happen seems to be at the high end.

 

[Koro_11]

Spoiler: Link

One person in hospital but all crew accounted for after North Sea ships collide, says local MP – as it happened

Owner of US-flagged tanker MV Stena Immaculate says all crew accounted for after collision with Rotterdam-bound cargo vessel Solong

www.theguardian.com

• Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “I’m concerned to hear of the collision between two vessels in the North Sea this morning and am liaising with officials and HM Coastguard as the situation develops

Alexander

Update
Update Two
Update Three
Update Four

DEI strikes again.

 

[Crazy Source]

DEI strikes again.

Gotdam, son. You have no shame.

 

[Koro_11]

Gotdam, son. You have no shame.

Joe momma.

 

[Thrawn33]

The Solong shouldn't have been within what, two miles of the Stena Immaculate. You're not supposed to bring large ships that close to each other under normal circumstances. AFAIK.

I did read that the Stena Immaculate was being operated by the US Navy and was anchored in a place where you're not supposed to anchor, but neither of those assertions has been confirmed. Without checking a chart it seems like the kind of place you would expect a ship to anchor, and in any case you would expect ships to be going back and forth from the Humber there.

Not that I'm a ship collision expert, but if it wasn't foul play, the level of negligence/incompetence needed for this to happen seems to be at the high end.

Nobody ever intends to get "that close"...until they collide.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Update Five

Spoiler: Links

Container ship that struck tanker failed 10 safety checks

Irish officials said MV Solong’s emergency steering compass was deficient last year

www.telegraph.co.uk

BBC Verify examines moments before cargo ship, tanker collision

Ship tracking data sheds light on what happened before the two vessels, the Solong and Stena Immaculate, collided in the North Sea.

www.bbc.co.uk

The container ship that crashed into an anchored tanker in the North Sea carrying jet fuel for the US Navy failed steering-related safety checks, The Telegraph can reveal, as its captain was arrested on Tuesday.

Irish officials said the MV Solong’s emergency steering compass was deficient when inspected during a routine safety check last year.

It was one of 10 deficiencies noted during a port state control (PSC) inspection carried out when the Portuguese-registered vessel visited Dublin in July 2024.

Inspectors found nine other deficiencies aboard the Solong during their checks, including problems with fire doors, alarms in the engine room, and with 'life-saving appliances', a maritime insider said.

The catch-all phrase refers to lifejackets, lifeboats and related equipment.

A subsequent PSC inspection at the British port of Grangemouth, carried out in October 2024, flagged two deficiencies, including one relating to the Solong’s lifebuoys.

Port State Control inspections are official checks carried out to ensure ships visiting British and European ports meet mandatory safety standards.

A spokesman for Ernst Russ, the German owners of the Solong, said that PSC inspections were a routine part of maritime business and that it is normal for a number of items to be flagged as deficient, comparing the process to taking a car to a mechanic for an MOT.

Serious safety-related deficiencies must be fixed before a ship is permitted to put to sea again, The Telegraph understands.

The Stena Immaculate was chartered to the US Military Sealift Command and was carrying 220,000 barrels (34.9million litres) of Jet-A1 aviation fuel when the Solong struck her.

Assistant Chief Coastguard John Craig

said on Tuesday evening that salvors were at the scene and developing a plan for both vessels.

He said: “A tow line has now successfully been put in place and a tug is holding Solong offshore in a safer position.”

Tom Sharpe, a 27-year Royal Navy veteran and captain of a number of warships,

said of Solong’s voyage: “It seems that she may have sailed from harbour, disembarked her pilot, set the helm to auto using routing information saved from previous voyages, then maintained the exact same course and speed for about nine hours before driving her bows into the Stena Immaculate’s port side.”

Crowley, the company which manages Stena Immaculate, said the incident was an 'allision', using an obscure nautical term that refers to a moving ship striking a stationary object or other ship.

The Stena Immaculate was anchored in an approved anchoring area, with several other vessels lying at anchor nearby.