Arrested captain of North Sea crash ship is Russian

The under-arrest captain of a container ship which crashed into a US oil tanker in the North Sea is Russian, the vessel’s owner has said.

Solong struck the Stena Immaculate off the east coast of Yorkshire on Monday morning.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said on Wednesday that fires on board Solong have “greatly reduced”.

A spokesman for shipping company Ernst Russ, which owns Solong, said: “The captain is a Russian national.”

The 59-year-old was arrested by Humberside Police on Tuesday on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

The force said on Wednesday morning the suspect “remains in our custody”.

American-based maritime news website gCaptain reported it was told by a US official in the White House that foul play had not been ruled out.

UK transport minister Mike Kane told MPs on Tuesday something went “terribly wrong” for the crash to happen but that there was “no evidence” of foul play.

Shadow transport minister Jerome Mayhew told the PA news agency: “Where military assets are damaged it is vital that motives are fully investigated to exclude foul play.

“The nationality of the captain of the Solong raises further questions about potential motivation that the Government must now get to the bottom of.”

A Solong crew member is presumed dead after a search-and-rescue operation was ended on Monday evening.

MCA chief executive Virginia McVea said: “The Solong is being held in a safe position offshore by a tug and further support vessels remain in the ship’s immediate vicinity.

“This morning’s assessment shows the fires on board the ship 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.

“There have been no further reports of pollution to the sea from either vessel beyond what was observed during the initial incident.”

Port state control (PSC) inspection documents show Solong failed steering-related safety checks in July last year.

Irish officials deemed Solong’s “emergency steering position communications/compass reading” was “not readable”.

This was among 10 deficiencies highlighted during the inspection of the Portuguese vessel in Dublin.

Other issues included alarms being “inadequate”, survival craft “not properly maintained”, and fire doors “not as required”.

Another PSC inspection by Scottish authorities in Grangemouth in October 2024 found two deficiencies with Solong.

One of these was related to lifebuoys – designed to be thrown into the water to prevent drowning – being “not properly marked”.

Solong was not detained after the inspections in Dublin or Grangemouth.

PSC inspections, which are carried out on ships in ports around the world, are aimed at verifying a vessel’s condition and equipment meet international regulations.

Crowley, the maritime company managing the Stena Immaculate, said a jet fuel spill from that vessel has had a “limited” impact.

It remains unclear how much Jet A1 fuel was released when the ship was hit by Solong, but an initial review shows it had evaporated due to exposure to fires on both vessels.

A salvage plan for both ships is currently being developed as the clean-up efforts enter a third day.

Crowley said Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel in 16 segregated cargo tanks, at least one of which “was ruptured” when it was struck.

In an update on Tuesday evening, the company said: “It remains unclear at this time what volume of fuel may have been released as a result of the incident, but initial review shows impacts have been limited due to exposure to the fire and evaporation of the Jet A1 fuel.”

The tanker was operating as part of the US government’s tanker security programme, a group of commercial vessels that can be contracted to carry fuel for the military when needed.

It had been anchored while waiting for a berth to become available at the Port of Killingholme, on the River Humber, Crowley said.

Ms Alexander said she was “reassured” to hear sodium cyanide containers on board the Solong were empty.

Four empty containers on board the Solong which “previously contained the hazardous chemical” will “continue to be monitored”, Ernst Russ said.