UK Says Burning Containership is Secured as Response to Collision Continues

Firefight contines on the containership Solong which is drifting in the North Sea off England (Youtube video)

Published Mar 11, 2025 10:30 AM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

Response efforts continued to Monday’s incident off the east coast of England in which a Portuguese-flagged containership hit a U.S.-flagged tanker that was anchored near Hull, England. The updates from HM Coastguard provided late on Tuesday, March 11, indicate that the containership Solong was still burning but that fears that the vessel would sink were diminished. The fires were greatly reduced with some flames still visible on the main deck and firefighting is focusing on those areas. A tow line has also been attached as a salvage team works to control the vessel.

Earlier in the day, the Coastguard reported the vessel was drifting. Its last position was to the south of where it hit the Stena Immaculate. The containership had also drifted further east into the North Sea away from shore. The tug with the line is reported to be holding the containership in "a safer position."

Briefing Parliament earlier on Tuesday, the UK’s Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security, Mike Kane, said “The assessment of HM Coastguard is, however, that it is unlikely the vessel will remain afloat.” He had reported, “Modelling suggests that, should the Solong remain afloat, it will remain clear of land for the next few hours.... Tug boats are in the vicinity to ensure the Solong remains away from the coast and to respond as the situation develops."

At 2320 last night local time the Coastguard reports the Solong separated from the Stena Immaculate and began to drift southwards. The Stena vessel was anchored approximately 10 miles off the coast near Hull, England, and remains there while the Coast Guard continues to track the Solong. Daylight images today show multiple fireboats near the containership spraying the fire.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the owners of the vessel Ernst Russ is now denying the reports of dangerous chemicals in some of the containers. “We are able to confirm that there are no containers on board ladened with sodium cyanide...,” they stated. “There are four empty containers that have previously contained the hazardous chemical and these containers will continue to be monitored.”

Images of the Stena Immaculate show the large fire is extinguished. Experts said they are remaining cautious however that there might still be fire below deck and they would be monitoring the vessel. Boskalis confirmed Dutch media reports that it has been retained to oversee the salvage operation for the tanker. The company said the timeline was unclear but that resources were already traveling to the ship.

 

 

 

 

The Coastguard also clarified previous reports saying that the 36 crewmembers were ashore and none were in hospitals. They said one was treated after coming ashore and declined further medical assistance. One crewmember from the Solong remains missing after the search was called off on Monday.

“We also recognize the dangers that others are faced with as they work to stabilize and secure the vessels and cargos involved,” Ernst Russ said in its statement. “Our team is actively engaged with all local authorities, and we will work with clean-up teams to ensure every effort is made to mitigate further impacts on the marine environment.”

The Coastguard reports teams are working with ship owners, salvors, and insurance companies. A Counter Pollution and Salvage Team is assessing the situation and is developing a plan ready for implementation as soon as the situation allows.

Speculation is running rampant on the Internet over the cause of the incident while CBS News interviewed one of the sailors from the Stena Immaculate. It’s reporting he said "a massive ship came from out of the blue" and that “it appeared as though nobody was on the bridge of the Solong at the moment of the crash.” The two vessels remained pinned together with the Solong continuing its forward momentum.

A spokesperson for the British Prime Minister however has told the media “I understand there doesn't appear to be any suggestions of foul play at this time." The investigations however are ongoing.

UK officials said its Marine Accident Investigation Branch is in touch with officials in Portugal and the United States, the flag states of the two vessels. Reports said there are internal discussions as to which country will lead the investigation although the MAIB is reported to already be in the area gathering information and possible evidence.

Video Released of Impact as Salvage Teams Prepare to Board Both Ships

Firefighting efforts on the Solong on March 11 (Photo: Maritime and Coastguard Agency)

Published Mar 12, 2025 3:23 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Officials from HM Coastguard and the shipping companies involved in Monday’s incident in the North Sea are reporting that the situation has stabilized aboard both ships as attention turns to planning the salvage operation. UK investigators are continuing to gather information while they wait for access to the data recorders aboard the two ships.

“The MCA is working with the salvage companies who are responding on behalf of the vessels’ owners and are working in full cooperation with all commercial and government partners. The overarching objective is to protect the public and the environment to the best of our ability, during this ongoing incident response,” HM Coastguard said in its update midday on Wednesday. “There have been no further reports of pollution to the sea from either vessel beyond what was observed during the initial incident.”

 

Thermal imaging from a neighboring vessel showing the allision as it happens -- note the weather conditions from the bridge view in the first images (Orca AI supplied) 

 

"This video footage clearly shows the context of the accident, that is the fog conditions at the time, while the moment of impact is also shown clearly," commented Yarden Gross, CEO and Co-founder of Orca AI, a maritime operations platform utilizing artificial intelligence and computer vision to aid mariners. The company describes the video saying the footage comprises two videos, one captured by the SeaPod's day cameras showing the dense fog that would likely have prevented the crew of the feeder containership Solong from seeing the Stena Immaculate with the human eye. The second video captured by the SeaPod's thermal cameras shows the approach of the Solong and the explosion as it hit the tanker.

The fires aboard the containership Solong are being described as “greatly reduced in their extent and intensity” while the vessel’s owner Ernst Russ said in a statement that the operational response to fully extinguish the fire and stabilize its containership continues. It said that fire activity onboard had diminished since yesterday, but that the vessel continues to emit smoke with occasional reports of flames. Pictures show the vessel charred end to end. The containership continues to be held in a safe position offshore by a tug with additional support vessels remaining in the area. 

There are no visible flames on the Stena Immaculate, which remains at anchor with safety tugs in position nearby. The salvage team from Boskalis was hoping to carry out an onboard assessment on Wednesday afternoon.

 

Stena Immaculate on March 11  (Photo: Maritime and Coastguard Agency)

 

Erik Hanel, chief executive of Stena Bulk which owns the tanker said the company was working closely with Crowley which operated the tanker under charter for the U.S. government, and that once the fire has been fully extinguished, salvagers would conduct a comprehensive assessment of the damage.

Speaking with the BBC, Hanel said that they would not know the full extent of the structural damage until the teams got aboard. He said they “hoped a decision on what to do with it could be made over the next 24-48 hours.” Hanell said that they now believe only two of the vessel's 18 fuel tanks had leaked, with an estimated 10 percent of the cargo.

The investigators have not made any public comments although the Internet remains ripe with speculation. A spokesperson for Ernst Russ commented that the master of the vessel who was detained by the police and its entire team are “actively assisting with the investigations.” They confirmed that the master is a Russian national and the rest of the crew are a mix of Russian and Filipino nationals.

Media in the UK is also highlighting that the Solong was cited for a range of issues during Port State inspections in 2024. The vessel’s owners responded that the issues had been resolved at the time of the inspections. While deficiencies were identified during inspections in both the UK and Ireland last year, the vessel was not detained.

HM Coastguard said the operations would only proceed to the next phase when it was safe to do so. They have continued to monitor the temperatures aboard both vessels while also looking for any indications that the fires were flaring up or further pollution.

Captain of cargo ship in North Sea crash is Russian: vessel owner


By AFP
March 12, 2025


UK police arrested a man after the Solong cargo ship slammed into the US-flagged Stena Immaculate - Copyright AFP/File Philip FONG

The arrested captain of a cargo ship that hit a stationary tanker in the North Sea causing a huge blaze is a Russian national, the ship’s owner told AFP Wednesday.

UK police arrested a man after the Solong cargo ship, owned by Ernst Russ, slammed into the US-flagged Stena Immaculate on Monday, leaving one crew member missing presumed dead.

“Ernst Russ confirms that the master is a Russian national,” the company said in a statement to AFP. “The rest of the crew are a mix of Russian and Filipino nationals.”

The confirmation comes after local police arrested a 59-year-old man on Tuesday on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the incident, which took place off the northeast coast of England.

Ernst Russ said the man detained by Humberside police was the captain of the Portuguese-flagged Solong.

Early on Monday, the Solong ploughed into the Stena Immaculate, anchored about 13 miles (20 kilometres) off the northeastern port of Hull, setting both vessels alight.

The incident resulted in jet fuel from the tanker leaking into the North Sea, sparking concerns for the surrounding environment and wildlife, as well as questions about how it happened.

While the fire on the tanker had “greatly diminished with no visible flames” by Tuesday evening, according to its US-based operator Crowley, the volume of jet fuel released into the sea remained “uncertain”.

“Initial review shows impacts have been limited due to exposure to the fire and evaporation of the Jet A1 fuel,” Crowley said in a statement.

– Missing presumed dead –

The UK Coastguard, which led the operation, rescued 36 people on Monday, including all of the 23 crew on the Stena Immaculate tanker, which had been chartered by the US military.

But a missing member of the Solong vessel crew was presumed dead, UK under-secretary for transport Mike Kane told parliament.

“Whether there was foul play, I think is speculation,” he said of the crash. “There is no evidence to suggest that, at the moment.”

The Stena Immaculate was on a short-term US military charter with Military Sealift Command, according to a spokesperson for the command, which operates civilian-crewed ships for the US Defense Department.

According to data collected by website VesselFinder, the impact of the crash displaced the tanker by “more than 400 metres”.

And the Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday that Irish officials found the Solong’s emergency steering compass was deficient during a routine safety check last year.

It was one of 10 deficiencies noted in the inspection carried out when the ship visited Dublin in July 2024.

UK agencies have been at the North Sea to probe air quality and environmental impacts, and investigations have started into how the cargo ship hit the tanker.