Cargo Ship causes destruction in the North Sea

Key Judgements

• On the 10^th of March a cargo ship struck an oil tanker in the North Sea
• One crew member went missing and was presumed dead, while the rest of the crew were rescued
• No cause has been found for the collision, but several possibilities exist, including Russian sabotage
• Environmental damage from the collision on nearby beaches and waters is being assessed and monitored

Context

The Stena Immaculate, a US-flagged tanker, had been anchored before making its way to Hull from a Greek port with the goal of transporting jet fuel for the US military. The tanker had been carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel when it was struck. Jet fuel is toxic and if ingested can kill marine organisms, which can then become harmful to seabirds that feed on them.

The Solong cargo ship had been making its way south to Rotterdam in the Netherlands from Grangemouth in Scotland. Amongst the crew of the Solong were Russians and Filipinos. The collision took place about 13 miles (20km) off the East Yorkshire coast, near Hull and Grimsby, in a busy shipping area.

The UK is responsible for responding to marine pollution up to 200 nautical miles from land, with a specialist coastguard team expected to lead the effort.

Timeline

On the 10^th of March, the Stena Immaculate, a US-flagged tanker, was anchored and drifting at a speed of 0.1 knots at 09:48 GMT. The Portuguese flagged cargo ship, the Solong, struck the larger oil tanker in waters off Hull just before 10:00am at around 16 knots (around 18mph). According to crew on the Stena and the Solong, the tanker came out of nowhere and those on board had seconds to react when the impact happened. After the Solong crashed, the crew on board the Stena tried to fight the fires by triggering a crucial firefighting system but realised it was futile and chose to abandon ship. They grabbed their essential belongings from their cabins and, after everyone was accounted for, boarded the lifeboat together. The captain was the final person to leave the ship with the whole process taking about 30 minutes. By the evening the search for the final Solong crew member, a Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia aged 38, was called off after an extensive search by the coastguard. A total of 36 crew members from both vessels were brought back to shore. One person was taken to hospital.

On the 11^th of March, the ship’s captain, a 59-year-old Russian national called Vladimir Motin was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

By the 12^th of March, the Solong was still on fire while the fire at the oil tanker had been extinguished. By the afternoon, the fire on the Solong had diminished but was still emitting smoke and the occasional report of flame. The Solong had separated from the Stena and drifted south while marine firefighters dealt with the fire. Chief Coastguard Paddy O’Callaghan said in a statement in the evening that aerial surveillance flights “have not indicated any pollution on the surface of the water attributable to either of the casualty vessels”.

After the accident, the owner Ernst Russ and co-owner Stena Bulk confirmed the ship was safe at anchor and they would decide what to do with it. An exclusion zone of 1km was put in place around both vessels. The UK transport secretary said the Maritime Accidental Investigation Branch would begin a preliminary assessment of the crash, but early indications suggested both vessels were not expected to sink.

On the 15^th of March Vladimir Motin appeared at Hull Magistrates Court and was charged with gross negligence manslaughter. He was remanded in custody to appear before the Central Criminal Court in London on 14 April. He was charged early at the Old Bailey with gross negligence manslaughter and is due to stand trial in January 2026.

A week after the Solong collided with the oil tanker was still burning.

On the 28^th of March, the Solong was towed to Aberdeen at around 7am for “safe berthing” and a damage assessment. The Solong was accompanied by a vessel with counter-pollution measures. Owners of the cargo vessel Ernst Russ said the Solong will be assessed by specialist marine assessors and insurers in Aberdeen.

Afterwards, 200,000 barrels of jet fuel were removed from the oil tanker salvage teams transferred the fuel to the Fure Vyl, another tanker.

Possible Cause of the incident

It is still unclear what caused the collision. Humberside Police have stared a criminal probe into the cause of the collision and will work with the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch. So far, the maritime security sources have found no evidence of any malicious activity.

Although there are suspicions of Russian sabotage. The fact the tanker was carrying jet fuel in support of the US Department of Defence cooperates this viewpoint. Although the incident has not impacted operations or combat readiness Russia has been conducting a “shadow fleet” across the Baltic and North Sea over the last couple months. It is possible to link this ship collision as previous shadow vessels have been linked to a series of suspected sabotage incidents damaging energy and communication infrastructure, including underseas cables, in the Baltic Sea.

According to the chief executive of the port of Grimsby East, Martyn Boyers, the area had been “very foggy” on the morning of the 10^th of March, this could have contributed to visibility issues. This is cooperated by a rescuer who said the fog was so thick during the initial search the crews could “not see a thing”.

The Solong cargo ship also had several safety and technical issues in the months leading up to the incident. Inspection documents from 2024 show warnings the ship’s compass reading and passion communications were “not readable.” This was amongst 10 issues highlighted by Irish inspection officials. Other problems included the alarms being “inadequate”, survival craft not being properly maintained and fire doors being “not as required.”  Another inspection in Scotland in October 2024 found two issues including that the lifebuoys were “not properly marked.” Ernst Russ said: “All deficiencies that were detected during routine port state control inspections of the Solong back in 2024 were promptly rectified”. However, it is possible that some of these safety issues were background factors in the crash, especially that ship’s compass readings being inaccurate as these would have related to the position of the Stena, without these issues its possible the two ships colliding could have been prevented.

Impact of the Incident

Early assessment suggests the amount of environmental damage has been minimal. The amount  of fuel released into the sea is limited with some fuel having burnt off and evaporated. Air quality tests measured on the 13^th of March, registered no toxins. Afterward the initial incident the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) said there had been no further reports of pollution form either vessel. However, the extent of the risk will depend on how much fuel has leaked out and the speed at which authorities contain the spill. It also depends on natural conditions, such as how quickly bacteria can break down the liquid. Local wildlife trusts have warned of the impact on local habitats and species including threatened seabird colonies, grey seals, harbour porpoises, fish and minke whales. Solong’s owners said they had a team engaged with local authorities and would work with clean-up teams to mitigate further impacts on the marine environment. The clean-up is likely to be difficult, time consuming and require investment in heavy equipment, whilst need to happen as soon as possible to minimise impact.

Following the collision, thousands of plastic pellets used in plastics production, known as nurdles, were released from ruptured containers on the Solong and began washing up on beaches on the Norfolk coast. According to conservationists, the nurdles are not toxic but can harm animals if ingested. King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Council said it had begun removing the nurdles, focusing initially on the stretch of beaches between Holme-next-the-Sea and Old Hunstanton.