LONDON, UK, March 15, 2025 (ENS) – An international marine incident involving at least four countries, two large ships, and the death of a crew member is threatening environmental damage to the North Sea off England’s east coast.
British police have filed manslaughter and gross negligence charges against the Russian national who captained the Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong that crashed into a U.S. military fuel tanker in the North Sea on Monday.
Vladimir Motin, 59, from Primorsky in Saint Petersburg, Russia, did not ask for bail when he appeared at Hull Magistrates Court on Saturday. Motin was remanded in police custody.
On Monday, the Solong cargo vessel, of which Motin was the captain, struck the U.S. chemical/oil products tanker Stena Immaculate tanker at full speed while it was anchored about 13 miles off England’s East Yorkshire coast, loaded with 220,000 barrels of JET A-1, a kerosene-type fuel.
Crews Rescued Except for One Man
During the crash, which caused explosions, set both vessels ablaze and spilled jet fuel into the sea, one of the Solong’s crew members, Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, went missing and is now believed to have died.
“Extensive searches were carried out by HM Coastguard to locate the missing crew member, now presumed deceased,” Humberside police said in a statement.
The anchored Stena Immaculate, operated by the U.S. Navy and managed by the U.S. logistics firm Crowley, is part of a fleet of 10 tankers involved in the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Maritime Administration Tanker Security Program to supply the armed forces with fuel during times of armed conflict or national emergency.
Environmentalists worry that the spilled jet fuel will kill wildlife in the area.
Hugo Tagholm, executive director of the nonprofit Oceana UK, said, “This incident is a shocking reminder of the ferocious polluting power of oil. We are seeing burning slicks, the threat of heavy fuel oil, and toxic chemicals leaking in or near not one but two marine protected areas. Places that should be safe havens for wildlife. Southern North Sea and Holderness MPAs protect declining harbour porpoises and rich seafloor habitats, both highly sensitive to these toxic spills.”
“Oil is always an accident waiting to happen in our ocean and we are all familiar with its devastating impacts – seabirds slick with oil, marine life struggling in tarry tidelines, and a toxic legacy that can impact wildlife and coastal communities for years. More oil will always result in more spills,” Tagholm said.
Chief coastguard officer Paddy O’Callaghan said the Solong has now been towed “to a safe location,” while the Stena Immaculate remains anchored in its original position.
Three aerial surveillance flights that took place on Wednesday and found no indication of pollution on the surface of the water attributable to either of the vessels, he said.
Counter-pollution measures and assets are already in place, and both vessels are being closely monitored for structural integrity, Mike Kane, MP, the minister responsible for maritime transport, told Parliament Thursday.
Investigation Underway
A Tactical Coordination Group has been established through the Humber and Lincolnshire Local Resilience Forum.
The British Marine Accident Investigation Branch, MAIB, was notified of the collision and immediately deployed a team of inspectors to Grimsby to begin a preliminary assessment.
MAIB has since been joined by representatives from the US National Transportation Safety Board, the US Coastguard, and the Marine Safety Investigation Authority Portugal.
Having consulted with those flag state authorities, agreement has been made that the Marine Accident Investigation Branch will lead the safety investigation with Portugal and the United States acting as interested states.
The priority has been to allow the emergency services the time to undertake search and rescue operations, secure the vessels and assess the environmental impact.
While this work has been taking place, MAIB’s inquiries have focused on gathering witness accounts and obtaining digital data. Once it is safe to do so, MAIB will conduct a detailed inspection of both vessels and manage the retrieval of the Voyage Data Recorders from both vessels.
The purpose of the MAIB investigation will be to establish the cause of events that led to this tragic accident, understand why it happened, and make recommendations to prevent similar accidents recurring.
Initial inquiries have determined that Solong frequently travelled between Grangemouth and Rotterdam and regularly used the route it took on the day of the collision.
On Monday morning at 0130 UTC, Solong passed to the east of the Longstone lighthouse and altered course onto a heading of 150° at a speed of about 16.4 knots. At 0947 UTC it struck the Stena Immaculate that was at anchor off the entrance to the River Humber.
The Independent newspaper reports that the container ship Solong failed steering-related safety checks last July, and that there were 10 deficiencies highlighted during the July inspection.
As well as continuing to gather witness accounts, further investigation will seek to establish the navigational practices on board both vessels; the staffing and fatigue management; the condition and maintenance of the vessels involved; and the environmental conditions at the time of the collision.
Leaping flames and explosions charred the Solong and left the Immaculate with a gaping hole in her side, but Stena Bulk Chief Executive Erik Hanell said two of 18 fuel tanks had leaked, or about 10 percent of the cargo.
Fuel leaked into the sea on Monday, raising fears for protected bird colonies, but the British coastguard said there had been no further reports of pollution from either vessel since then.
“We will have a much clearer picture in the next 24-48 hours on the whole salvage operation,” Hanell told Reuters.
Featured image: Ship collision in the North Sea. The Portuguese-registered cargo vessel Solong, right, struck the anchored U.S. chemical/oil tanker Stena Immaculate, setting both vessels on fire and spilling jet fuel into the sea. March 11, 2025 (Video Screenshot/X.com)
