British police arrested the captain of a cargo ship on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter yesterday, a day after the vessel crashed into a tanker carrying US military jet fuel off the east coast of England, leaving both vessels badly damaged.
The tanker, Stena Immaculate, which carries jet fuel for the US military, was at anchor on Monday when it was struck by the smaller Solong, causing huge fires and explosions, releasing fuel into the sea, and potentially posing a danger to wildlife.
Neither vessel is now expected to sink, transport minister Heidi Alexander said in a statement after an earlier assessment had said the Solong was unlikely to remain afloat.
One crew member from the Portuguese-flagged Solong is assumed dead, maritime minister Mike Kane told parliament. Thirty-six people were brought ashore following the incident and no others remain missing, the coast guard said.
“We have arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision,” police said in a statement.
The ship’s owner, Ernst Russ, said the arrested man was the ship’s captain, or master. “The master and our entire team are actively assisting with the investigations,” Russ said.
Aerial video yesterday showed a gaping hole in Stena Immaculate’s hull, with fire damage along its length, although the flames that engulfed it after the collision appeared to have subsided.
The Solong appeared badly burnt and smouldering. The coast guard said a one-kilometre exclusion zone had been placed around both vessels.
“... early indications suggest that both vessels are now expected to stay afloat and that the Solong can be towed away from the shore, and salvage operations can get underway,” Alexander said after a meeting with the coast guard agency.
Owners of the Solong said the vessel was not carrying sodium cyanide, contrary to an earlier report from maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence, which cited the local coast guard, but conservation groups said the environmental impact from the spillage of jet fuel could prove wide reaching.
The Solong owners said they were monitoring four containers which had previously been used to store sodium cyanide.
The surrounding area is home to large colonies of protected seabirds including puffins and gannets as well as a delicate coastal ecosystem.
The potential environmental impact remains under assessment.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman said there was currently no suggestion of “foul play”.
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