Police arrest man on suspicion of manslaughter as one feared dead after ship crash

British police arrested a man following a ship collision off the coast of England which has left one person feared dead and jet fuel leaking into the ocean.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after rescue crews called off efforts to find a missing sailor following a disastrous ship crash in waters off Yorkshire, England.

Humberside police said they have arrested the 59-year-old “on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision” but no charges have been laid.

The UK coastguard ended the search for the missing crew member after a cargo ship ran into a US-military charted tanker carrying jet fuel in the North Sea.

HM Coastguard rescued 36 crew members from the Swedish-owned Stena Immaculate tanker and German Solong container vessel, with one taken to hospital.

Fire on board both of the ships have been burning for more than 24 hours and jet fuel from a damaged container poured into the sea, initially sparking environmental fears.

“No sign of pollution from vessels is observed at this time,” British Transport minister Mike Kane told the House of Commons, adding it was a fast moving situation which could change at any time.

The vessels have begun to drift apart and the cargo ship will likely sink, Mr Kane confirmed.

Smoke billows from the stricken vessel. Picture: AP

Crew members return to the lifeboat station after being involved in the rescue operation. Picture: Getty Images

The crew of both vessels were forced to abandon ship. Picture: AP

Images showed a huge plume of thick, black smoke and flames rising from the scene about 16km off the east England coast, sparking concerns of “multiple toxic hazards”.

Director of operations at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Martin Slater, told The Independent the crash could spell disaster for local seabirds calling it “devastating for the wildlife of the estuary.”

Tankers collide in the North Sea. Picture: Instagram/Tessaonenews

“East Yorkshire’s coast is home to protected and significant colonies of seabirds including puffins, razorbills, gannets and kittiwakes. Many birds are gathering offshore on the sea ahead of the nesting season,” Mr Slater said.

“There are significant numbers of Atlantic grey seals in the area, many rearing this year’s young, as well as porpoises and other cetaceans around Spurn.

“If pollution spillage enters the Humber, this could potentially be devastating for the wildlife of the estuary, including important fish stocks and tens of thousands of overwintering and migrating birds who use the mud flats.”

Atlantic Puffins are among the seabirds at risk from the pollution. Picture: iStock

A retired British Navy rear admiral believes the crew of the German cargo ship may have been “negligent” after the vessel crashed into the stationary oil tanker.

Rear Admiral Chris Parry told the BBC the area of the North Sea where the collision occurred was “well known” for having ships at anchor.

“At first sight it looks highly negligent by the crew of the Solong,” he said.

“You’re looking at an inferno there, it looks like a ship that’s been torpedoed in the Second World War.

Fire and rescue services attend after the collision. Picture: Getty Images

“It’s a well known route down the east coast of Britain, however it’s also a well-known anchorage, so any ship coming through there will know there are large numbers of vessels at anchor.

“It’s rather like driving at speed through a Sainsbury’s car park when you know there are cars there.

“Somebody clearly hasn’t taken notice, they’ve disregarded all the sensors they’ve got to tell them where they are and what’s around them.

“And I’m afraid to say it looks like negligence at first sight.”

Multiple fires and explosions broke out. Picture: AP

His theory was backed up by head of the maritime centre at Liverpool John Moores University Dr Abdul Khalique.

“It can be assumed that the watchkeepers on MV Solong were not performing their duty to ‘maintain a proper lookout by all available means’ as required by International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea,” Dr Khalique told the Guardian.

“Although lookout by sight may have been hampered by the poor prevailing visibility at the time of accident, had the watchkeepers been maintaining a proper lookout by radar, they would have spotted this imminent collision threat and taken an action to avoid collision. “Preliminary reports suggesting that poor visibility may have played a role in the collision too.”

Large plumes of thick, black smoke filled the air after the crash. Picture: Getty Images

The injured had been brought ashore for treatment “in three vessels”, the Grimsby port director Martyn Boyers told AFP, adding that “ambulances were queuing on the quay”.

The operation was being co-ordinated by the UK Coastguard.

The Stena Immaculate is leaking Jet-A1 fuel the ship’s managing agent, US company Crowley said in a statement, adding crew were forced to abandon ship.

The agent added there were “multiple explosions” on-board.

“A fire occurred as a result of the collision, and fuel was reported released,” the Crowley statement reads.

“Crowley immediately initiated its emergency vessel response plan and is actively working with public agencies to contain the fire and secure the vessel.”

Atlantic grey seals could also be impacted. Picture: Getty Images

Meanwhile, the Solong was carrying a cargo which included 15 containers of sodium cyanide according to a report from maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

The compound releases the highly toxic hydrogen cyanide gas, exposure to which can be fatal.

Greenpeace UK are undertaking their own assessment of the crash.

“We are monitoring reports of a cargo vessel crashing into an oil tanker off the coast of Yorkshire very closely,” a spokesman said.

“Both the high speed of the collision and the footage of the aftermath are cause for great concern.

“Right now, our thoughts are with all those affected by the incident and the emergency services responding to the situation.

“At this stage, it’s too early to assess the extent of any environmental damage.”

A UK Coastguard spokesman told AFP they too were monitoring the environmental situation.

Images on UK television channels showed a huge plume of thick, black smoke and flames rising from the scene about 16 kilometres off the coast.

The extent of the environmental impact is not yet known. Picture: Getty Images

There were reports of “fires on both ships” that UK lifeboat services were responding to, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) confirmed to AFP.

There were also reports that “a number of people had abandoned the vessels”, RNLI added.

The International Maritime Organisation confirmed to AFP “the current focus is on the firefighting and search and rescue operation”.

UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “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”.

She also thanked all the emergency services which rushed to the scene. The alarm about the collision near the port city of Hull in East Yorkshire was raised late Monday night AEDT.

A Coastguard helicopter, aircraft, lifeboats from four towns and other nearby vessels were part of the large rescue operation, the Coastguard added.

Swedish tanker company Stena Bulk confirmed it owned the oil tanker involved in the accident, adding that it was operated by Crowley, a US-based maritime company.

The tanker was named as the Stena Immaculate by online ship tracking service Marine Traffic, which said the vessel was anchored near its destination, Immingham, near Hull.

Rescue crews had to fight a large blaze. Picture: Getty Images

It had travelled from Greece loaded with petroleum products, according to Bloomberg.

An Associated British Ports (ABP), which operates the Port of Hull and Immingham, said it was “aware” of the incident and was “assisting” the Coastguard.

The MarineTraffic shipping tracker said the cargo ship involved was the Portuguese-flagged Solong, owned by the German company Reederei Koepping.

Vessels with firefighting capabilities have been dispatched to the scene off the northeast coast.

Collisions remain rare in the busy North Sea.

In October 2023, two cargo ships, the Verity and the Polesie, collided near Germany’s Heligoland islands in the North Sea.

Three people were killed and two others are still missing, considered dead. The Isle-of-Man-flagged Verity, which was carrying steel from the northern German port of Bremen to Immingham, sank.

In October 2015, the Flinterstar freighter – carrying 125 tonnes of diesel and 427 tonnes of fuel oil – sank after colliding with the Al Oraiq tanker eight kilometres five miles off the Belgian coast on October 6, 2015.

– with AFP

Originally published as Police arrest man on suspicion of manslaughter as one feared dead after ship crash