UK: TANKER-CARGO SHIP COLLISION IN NORTH SEA LEAVES ONE SAILOR INJURED, ONE MISSING

NORTH SEA • A serious collision occurred today, March 10, off the British coast in the North Sea, involving a tanker and a cargo ship. The incident resulted in a fire on the tanker, which spread to the cargo vessel, injuring one sailor and leaving another missing. Concerns are rising over potential environmental damage, as the tanker was carrying jet fuel and the cargo ship reportedly held sodium cyanide and flammable gas.

North Sea, March 10, 2025 – 9:39 PM – A serious incident occurred off the British coast today, March 10, when a tanker collided with a cargo ship in the North Sea. The impact caused a fire on the tanker, with flames also spreading aboard the cargo vessel. Thirty-seven sailors were brought ashore; one is injured and has been hospitalized, while the other 36 are reported safe. The owner of the cargo ship confirmed that one crew member is missing. The other thirteen crew members aboard the cargo ship "Solong" were "brought safely" ashore, and "efforts are underway to locate the missing crew member," stated German shipping company Ernst Russ in a declaration. Fears are growing over potential environmental consequences: the Coast Guard announced that specialized assessments have been ordered to verify the impact of the "probable pollution." The tanker is Swedish-owned but sails under a U.S. flag, while the cargo ship is German-owned and flies the Portuguese flag.

What We Know

The alarm was raised shortly before 10 AM local time (11 AM in Italy), as stated in a press release issued by the British Coast Guard. The collision occurred "between a tanker and a merchant vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire," the note reads. The reconstruction of events so far suggests that the cargo ship rammed the Stena Immaculate: at the time of impact, the Solong was sailing at a speed of approximately 16 knots, while the Stena Immaculate was stationary after anchoring off Hull. It remains unclear how the collision occurred, given seemingly non-extreme sea and weather conditions. Both vessels involved are civilian. The Solong belongs to a German shipping company but currently flies the flag of Portugal, having been leased by a Portuguese firm. The Stena Immaculate is owned by Swedish shipowner Stena Bulk, part of the Olsson family group, but flies the U.S. flag, having been leased by the Californian freight forwarder Crowley.

Tanker Leased by the Pentagon

The tanker is one of 10 civilian vessels also authorized to transport fuel for the U.S. armed forces, according to the BBC. Indeed, the tanker had been chartered by the U.S. military, specifically by the Military Sealift Command. This was confirmed by Jillian Morris, a spokesperson for the command that operates civilian-crewed ships for Pentagon transport.

The Stena Immaculate, as also reported by British media, was carrying jet fuel. This fuel is reportedly spilling into the sea following the collision, and "multiple explosions" have been recorded.

Tanker Tank Ruptured

A tank containing jet fuel on the tanker ruptured, according to the Swedish shipowner Stena Bulk. The tanker flies the American flag and was leased by a U.S. freight forwarder. "While anchored off the North Sea coast near Hull, UK, the tanker was struck by the container ship Solong," stated Crowley, the American company managing the vessel, in a note. "The tanker sustained a rupture to a cargo tank containing fuel, and the crew abandoned ship following multiple explosions on board."

Environmental Concerns and Investigation

On the environmental front, the scenario remains unsettling. The Swedish owner of the tanker, part of the Olsson family's Stena group and leased for this voyage to Californian freight forwarder Crowley, confirmed that the impact caused "a rupture in a cargo tank," resulting in a spill of some of the transported kerosene into the sea. British authorities and environmental organizations like Greenpeace have announced immediate checks to determine the extent of the pollution. Meanwhile, investigations are also underway into the cause of the ramming. Early hypotheses suggest a possible error in the Solong's automatic piloting system, which may have steered the 140-meter-long cargo ship into a collision course with the 183-meter by 32-meter tanker, despite non-extreme sea and visibility conditions.

Greenpeace Warns of "Various Toxic Risks"

Greenpeace tonight raised the alarm over "various toxic risks" associated with the collision that occurred this morning off the British North Sea coast. The UK branch of the environmental organization pointed not only to the spill of fuel transported by the tanker on behalf of the U.S. armed forces but also to the sodium cyanide and flammable gas stored in some of the Solong's containers, as certified by the cargo insurance documentation held by Lloyds. These latter substances are not currently reported to have entered the water, but their potential danger is evident. "As information emerges about what the two ships were carrying," concern grows exponentially "about the various risks these chemicals could pose to underwater life," said Paul Johnston, a scientist at Greenpeace Research Laboratories and professor at Exeter University, England. The British government under Keir Starmer, through a Downing Street spokesperson, admitted that the incident is "extremely worrying," assuring thorough investigations and controls.