Under arrest captain of Solong container ship involved in North Sea crash is Russian national, company says
The arrested captain of the Solong – the container ship involved in the crash in the North Sea – is a Russian national, the vessel’s owner has said.
The rest of the crew were Russian and Filipino nationals, according to German shipping company Ernst Russ.
It comes after police said a man had been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with Monday’s collision.
Humberside Police said a 59-year-old is in custody to allow enquiries to take place, and officers are talking to those involved to find out what happened.
The force added investigators have started a criminal probe into the cause of the collision between the US-registered Stena Immaculate and the Portuguese-flagged Solong about 13 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire on Monday, and are working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The tanker was carrying Jet-A1 fuel for the US Navy as part of a United States government programme designed to supply American armed forces with fuel when required, a military spokesman told Reuters.
On Monday, maritime security sources told Reuters there was no indication of any malicious activity or other actors involved in the incident and UK authorities have also said they have so far found no evidence of foul play in the crash.
Humberside detectives are working with the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch, and it’s been reported that authorities from the US and Portugal will lead the investigation into what happened.
The Stena Immaculate, operated by US firm Crowley, was stationary and at anchor while waiting for a berth to become available at the Port of Killingholme, on the River Humber, when it was struck by the smaller Solong, causing huge fires and explosions – the smoke from which was visible from space.
The Solong had been sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands at the time. It was initially feared it was carrying sodium cyanide but the German owner Ernst Russ said four containers on the vessel had previously been carrying the chemical.
Pic: AP/Dan Kitwood/Pool
The Solong after the collision.
Pic: AP/Dan Kitwood/Pool
One missing, presumed dead
One person remains missing and is presumed dead.
In the immediate aftermath of the collision, dozens of people were forced to abandon the vessels as they caught fire.
Coastguard rescued 36 people after the alarm was raised at 9.48am on Monday, with ambulances lining up at a nearby port as emergency services readied their response.
All 23 people on board the oil tanker Stena Immaculate were accounted for, but one of the 14 crew members of the Solong is still missing.
A search for them was called off Monday evening.
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Solong failed safety checks
It has emerged that the Solong failed steering-related safety checks last year.
Port state control (PSC) inspection documents from July last year show how officials warned that the ship’s “emergency steering position communications/compass reading” was “not readable”.
It was among 10 issues highlighted during an inspection by Irish officials.
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How did ships collide in the North Sea?
Other issues included the alarms being “inadequate”, survival craft not being properly maintained and fire doors “not as required”.
Another inspection, this time in Scotland in October 2024, found two issues with the Solong.
One of these was related to lifebuoys, warning they were “not properly marked”.
PSC inspections, which are carried out around the world, aim to verify that a vessel’s condition and equipment meet international regulations.
Environmental impact not as severe as initially feared
The Stena Immaculate had been carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel in 16 segregated cargo tanks – at least one of which “was ruptured” during the collision, shipping company Crowley said.
But it added that the jet fuel spill was having a “limited” impact.
The potential environmental impact seems to be less severe than initially feared.
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Most of the spilt jet fuel has evaporated or burned off, Crowley said in an X post. There seems to have been no loss of engine fuel from either vessel and both are expected to remain afloat despite a gaping hole in the side of the Stena Immaculate and earlier fears the Solong would sink.
There are no visible flames on either ship, and the Solong, which was drifting, has now been secured by tugs.
The chief executive for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), Virginia McVea, said on Wednesday morning: “There have been no further reports of pollution to the sea from either vessel beyond what was observed during the initial incident. HM Coastguard’s counter pollution and salvage team has a comprehensive counter pollution response in place should it be required. Salvors also have equipment and personnel ready to respond to any pollution.
“The overarching objective is to protect the public and the environment to the best of our ability, during this ongoing incident response.
“This morning’s assessment shows the fires on board the [Solong] have greatly reduced in their extent and intensity.
“The Stena Immaculate remains at anchor, with safety tugs in position should they be required. There are no visible flames on board and an on-board assessment may be carried out later today.
“Salvors will only board the vessels when it is safe to do so. Only then will it be possible to carry out comprehensive damage assessments.”
The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.
European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.
Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.
Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland
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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20
The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.
One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.
Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.
Read more:
Trump’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan in full
Analysis: We could all pay if Europe doesn’t guarantee Ukraine’s security
Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a plenary session on the first day of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Pic: Reuters
“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.
“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”
Pic: AP
On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.
Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.
“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.
“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.
“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Pic: AP
Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.
Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.
There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.
But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.
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