A man has been arrested by UK police for suspected manslaughter after the likely death of one person following the collision of two ships in the North Sea, according to Sky News. A container ship hit a stationary tanker that was carrying jet fuel for the U.S. military on Monday off the eastern coast of England.
Humberside Police in the UK released a statement to Sky News explaining they had arrested a 59-year-old man “on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision.” The man is in custody but has not been formally charged yet, according to Sky News.
The U.S. fuel tanker Stena Immaculate was reportedly anchored off the coast of England when the Portuguese-flagged Solong cargo ship (pictured above) ran into it around 9:45 a.m. local time on Monday. The collision started fires and multiple explosions. Thirty-six people were rescued but one person is missing and presumed dead on the Solong, which will reportedly be allowed to just sink.
The Solong reportedly left port in Scotland on Sunday and was heading to Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel, according to the Independent. Early reports indicated the Solong may have been carrying sodium cyanide, a hazardous chemical, but the owners of the ship denied it, according to Sky News. Apparently, the confusion stemmed from the fact that four of the containers had previously been used to carry the chemical but were actually empty.
British politicians have raised concerns that the incident may have involved “foreign interference,” though a cause has yet to be determined. The UK’s maritime minister, Mike Kane, said it was reasonable to ask the question, but they just don’t know yet.
“At the moment, we feel there is no malign intention to this incident. However, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch will investigate,” Kane said, according to the Independent.
It would certainly be more understandable if the two ships were both moving, but the fact that the Stena Immaculate fuel tanker was anchored at the time of the collision has raised a lot of eyebrows.
Humberside Police’s detective chief superintendent, Craig Nicholson, said they would be working with the Marine Accident Investigation Branch to determine the exact cause of the collision.
“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,” Nicholson said in a statement to Sky News. “The man arrested remains in custody at this time whilst enquiries are underway, and we continue speaking with all those involved to establish the full circumstances of the incident.”
