Collision between an oil tanker and a cargo cargo in the North Sea: the captain, of Russian nationality, was arrested in the United Kingdom

The captain of the container carrier who struck an oil tanker in the North Sea on Monday and who was arrested by the British police is of Russian nationality, the company owner of the cargo owner, Ernst Russ, reported.

This 59 -year -old man, who is suspected of “manslaughter by serious negligence” after the death of a crew member in the collision, is still in police custody, police said on Wednesday, March 12 in the morning. The rest of the crew is made up of Russian and Philippin nationals, according to Ernst Russ.

This collision caused a gigantic fire and made a disappeared, a member of crew of the allegedly dead container carrier. The British coast guards, who led the operation, rescued 36 people on Monday, including the 23 oil crew members Stena-immaculate Beating American pavilion, and chartered by the American army. The tanker was carrying fuel for plane.

THE Stena-immaculate was anchor 16 kilometers off the city of Hull, in Yorkshire, on the east coast of the United Kingdom, when it was struck by the Solong in still unknown circumstances. Photos of AFP taken Tuesday during a helicopter overflight show smoke escaping from Solongwhile a gaping hole is visible on the flank of the oil tanker, one of the reservoirs containing kerosene was broken.

“Extremely worrying” situation

Documents of the Port State Control, vessel inspection regime, show that several failures on the Solong were noted during routine safety checks in Ireland in July 2024. His emergency management compass was defective, according to the Daily Telegraph. Among the other problems reported by the Irish authorities, are highlighted the alarms “Inadequate”rescue canoes “Poorly maintained” and fire-cutting doors “Non -compliant with the requirements”. However, the cargo was able to continue its journey after this inspection.

This collision caused concerns about the region's maritime flora and fauna. A “Environmental disaster seems to have been avoided by little”said Greenpeace on Wednesday. There was no “Other pollution reports (…)beyond what was observed during the initial incident ”said Virginia McVea, Managing Director of the Coast Guard and Maritime Affairs Agency, who said that the fire on the Solong “Has sharply decreased” And there is “More visible flames” aboard the oil tanker.

The Secretary of State for British Maritime Transport, Mike Kane, said on Tuesday that“No sign of pollution from ships” had not been observed “For the moment”.

The owner of the cargo, beating Portuguese pavilion, said Tuesday that his ship was not carrying containers loaded with sodium cyanide, contrary to what the specialized site Lloyd's List intelligence has so far. “We are able to confirm that in board there are no containers loaded with sodium cyanide, as has been wrongly reported. There are four empty containers which previously contained the dangerous chemical, and these containers will continue to be monitored ”according to the company Ernst Russ.

“The management of maritime accident surveys will obviously carry out the preliminary assessment of the collision. I'm not going to advance on this work, but from what I understand, there is no reason to think for the moment that it is a criminal act “Downing Street said a spokesperson.

A little earlier, a spokesperson for the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, had described the situation “Extremely worrying”while the coast guards had launched a ” assessment “ To decide “Probably necessary pollution measures” After the collision between the ships.