The captain of the detained ship involved in a collision in the North Sea is Russian, the shipowner claims.
The owner claims the captain of the cargo ship that collided with a U.S. tanker on Wednesday is a Russian national and remains in British police custody after the ship was found to have failed several safety checks last year. The 59-year-old man, whose name has not yet been released, was arrested by police in northeast England on Tuesday on suspicion of gross negligence in the incident. He has not been charged.
Ernest Ross Shipping, the owner of the Portuguese cargo ship Sulong, said the ship’s 14 crew members were Russian and Filipino. British authorities said no evidence of violence was found in the incident and there was no indication at this time that the incident was related to national security. Humberside Police said detectives were conducting a joint investigation with partner agencies. The captain of the cargo ship that collided with a U.S. tanker is a Russian national and remains in British police custody after the ship was found to have failed several safety checks, Charles Dredsma, an Associated Press reporter, reports.
The UK’s Maritime Accident Investigation Branch is also investigating why the Solon collided with a tanker anchored about 16 kilometers off the UK coast while en route from Grangemouth, Scotland, to Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
The United States and Portugal, the two countries the ship flies its flag under, are currently investigating.
The Solon failed a government safety inspection in Dublin, Ireland, in July after the ship’s “communications/compass readings at the emergency navigation station” were unreadable, port inspection documents show. Inspectors found a total of 10 deficiencies, including inadequate alarms, poorly maintained life-saving vehicles and substandard fire doors.
An inspection in Scotland in October found two more deficiencies. The ship was not detained after any inspections.
A cargo ship collided with the Stena Immaculate, a tanker carrying aircraft fuel for the U.S. military, in the North Sea off the east coast of England on Monday, causing fires on both ships. One sailor from the Solon is missing and presumed dead. The other 36 crew members from both ships were rescued safely without serious injuries.
Officials said the Sulong remained afloat and burning on Wednesday but would likely remain afloat without sinking.
The 183-meter (596-foot) Stena Immaculate tanker is part of the U.S. government’s Tanker Safety Program, a group of commercial vessels that can transport fuel for the military when needed.
The collision caused jet fuel to leak into the sea, raising concerns about severe environmental damage. Environmental experts say the oil and chemicals pose a threat to marine life, including whales, dolphins and birds such as puffins, cormorants and common waders that inhabit coastal cliffs.
The U.K. Coastguard Agency said no new pollution had been reported since the initial incident, and environmental group Greenpeace said the impact on marine life may not be as severe as initially feared.
“We are not out of the woods yet, but it looks like we have narrowly avoided an environmental disaster,” said Paul Johnston of the Greenpeace Research Lab. “When a container ship the size of a football pitch collides with a tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of aviation fuel near a sensitive natural area at 16 knots, the potential for major damage is enormous.”
