UK police arrest cargo ship captain over North Sea crash with oil tanker
Both vessels were set ablaze and one sailor is presumed dead in the collision, which has sparked fears of major environmental damage
British police on Tuesday arrested the captain of a cargo ship on suspicion of manslaughter as they searched for answers about why it hit a tanker transporting jet fuel for the US military off eastern England, setting both vessels ablaze. One sailor was presumed dead in the collision, which sparked fears of significant environmental damage.
Humberside Police said the 59-year-old was detained “on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision”. He was not named by the police and has not been charged.
The owner of the container carrier, shipping company Ernst Russ, said the arrested man was the ship’s master. It said he “and our entire team are actively assisting with the investigations”.
The government said the cause of the collision was being investigated, but there was no indication of foul play.
UK officials were watching for damage to birds and sea life after jet fuel poured into the North Sea when the Portugal-registered Solong broadsided the US-flagged tanker MV Stena Immaculate on Monday. The collision sparked explosions and fires that burned for more than 24 hours.
Footage filmed from a helicopter on Tuesday morning showed the fire appeared to largely be out on the tanker, which had a large gash on its port side.