The captain of the Solong container ship that crashed close to the UK is a Russian nationwide, the ship’s proprietor mentioned.
The remainder of the crew are a mixture of Russian and Filipino, transport firm Ernst Russ AG mentioned in a press release. Russia and the Philippines are among the many world’s high suppliers of crew to vessels, so it’s common for ships to have Russian seafarers.
The Solong crashed into an oil tanker hauling gasoline for the US Navy off the coast of the UK. Whereas there have been fears the freighter would sink, it now seems more likely to stay afloat. It’s being held in a secure place offshore, and the fires on board have drastically diminished, the coastguard mentioned on Wednesday.
Learn extra: Unexplained Ship Collision off UK Coast Triggers Race for Clues
There’s nothing to point the incident is a nationwide safety situation, though it’s too early to utterly rule something out at this stage, an individual conversant in the matter mentioned, asking to not be named as a result of they’re not approved to remark publicly.
The arrest of the ship’s captain, introduced late on Tuesday by native police, was for gross negligence manslaughter in reference to the collisions. This sort of cost suggests lack of intent. Police mentioned Wednesday they’re persevering with to conduct intensive strains of inquiry.
The chance of serious environmental harm from the incident appeared to subside because the coastguard mentioned late on Tuesday that air high quality sampling onshore exhibits no toxins, and modeling from the Met Workplace signifies no risk to the general public.
There have been no additional experiences of air pollution to the ocean from both vessel, past what was noticed within the preliminary incident, the coastguard added on Wednesday.
Crowley, the corporate that manages the Stena Immaculate oil tanker concerned within the incident, mentioned Tuesday it remained unsure how a lot gasoline could have been launched. The agency beforehand mentioned the tanker was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet gasoline in 16 segregated cargo tanks when it was struck.
“We’re not fairly out of the hazard zone but, however it’s beginning to appear like an environmental catastrophe could have been narrowly averted,” mentioned Paul Johnston, from the Greenpeace Analysis Laboratories. “When it comes to minimizing any additional dangers to marine life, the precedence ought to now be to make sure so far as potential that each ships stay afloat, that no additional jet gasoline leaks from the tanker and that the cargo of the container ship is absolutely characterised and secured.”
{Photograph}: Smoke rises from the Solong cargo ship off the UK’s east coast on March 11, 2025. Photograph credit score: Dan Kitwood/Getty Pictures
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