Oil tanker collides with cargo ship in North Sea
GB News
A collision between a cargo vessel and a tanker in the North Sea took place yesterday just off the east coast of Yorkshire
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A 59-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after an oil tanker and cargo ship collided into one another in the North Sea.
Humberside Police has launched a criminal investigation into the collision's cause and are co-operating with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The owner of the Solong cargo ship, German firm Ernst Russ, confirmed that the captain of the ship is the man arrested, the BBC reports.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is in the process of launching a probe to establish the cause of the collision involving the Portuguese vessel Solong and US tanker Stena Immaculate yesterday.
The vessel continues to drift following the crash. One of its members remains missing and presumed dead after a search and rescue operation concluded last night.
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Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Superintendent 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.
"Extensive work has already been carried out, and we are working closely with our partners to understand what happened, and to provide support to all of those affected.
"Following enquiries 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."
The man remains in custody while inquiries remain ongoing.
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The detective chief added: "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."
Crowley - the maritime firm managing Stena Immaculate - confirmed that the vessel was hit by the Solong while it was anchored off the coast of Hull.
The crash caused subsequent "multiple explosions" on board and an unknown amount of Jet A-1 fuel to be released into the water.
The ship was said to be carrying around 220,000 barrels of jet fuel in 16 separate cargo tanks - one of which "was ruptured" when the crash occurred.
Stena Immaculate, which was carrying a “full load” of jet fuel, were forced to abandon ship after the MV Solong vessel crashed into its port side shortly before 10am on Monday off the Yorkshire coast.
Fears had been growing that MV Solong may have been carrying sodium cyanide, a toxic chemical.
However, a statement from Ernst Russ, owner of Solong, has confirmed that there was no sodium cyanide aboard the vessel, despite previous reports.