An aerial view as smoke billows from the Solong cargo ship in the North Sea, off the Yorkshire coast, Britain, on Tuesday. Photo by Dan Kitwood/EPA-EFE
March 12 (UPI) — British authorities have arrested the captain of a cargo ship as they investigate the cause of a fatal crash between the vessel and an oil tanker shipping jet fuel for the U.S. military in the North Sea.
The crash between the Stena Immaculate oil tanker and the Portuguese-flagged Solong occurred Monday morning about 10 miles off the coast of Britain’s East Yorkshire County.
The unidentified 59-year-old is being held on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, Humberside Police said Tuesday.
Authorities said the arrest follows the conclusion of a search of the Solong for a missing crew member.
“The man arrested remains in custody at this time whilst inquiries are underway, and we continue speaking with all those involved to establish the full circumstances of the incident,” Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson said in a statement.
“Our thoughts are with the family of the missing crew member, and I have appointed Family Liaison Officers to make contact and provide support to the family.”
German shipping firm Ernst Russ, which owns the Solong, has confirmed to the BBC and CBS News that the person arrested was the vessel’s captain.
MP Mike Kane, under-secretary of state at the Department of Transport, told lawmakers Tuesday that the Solong collided with the anchored Stena Immaculate at 9:47 a.m. local time, causing fires to erupt on both vessels.
He said that while the fire on the Stena Immaculate appears to have been extinguished, the Solong continues to burn.
The full 23-man crew of the Stena Immaculate has been accounted for while only 13 of 14 sailors aboard the Solong have been identified.
“Search and rescue operations for the missing sailor continued throughout yesterday, but were called off yesterday evening at the point at which the chances of their survival had unfortunately significantly diminished,” he said.
“Our working assumption is that, very sadly, that the sailor is deceased.”
Humberside Police said it has launched an investigation into the cause of the collision in collaboration with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Meanwhile, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch has launched its own investigation.
The Stena Immaculate was transporting 220,000 barrels of jet fuel, Kane said, adding that a plan is being developed to salvage both vessels,