Fires out on container ship involved in North Sea collision amid beach fears

Fires have been extinguished aboard a container ship which collided with a tanker in the North Sea as concerns continue about the effect on wildlife of plastic pellets released from the vessel.

The coastguard said firefighting teams have successfully quelled the blazes on the Solong, a week after it collided with the fuel tanker Stena Immaculate about 12 miles off the East Yorkshire coast.

Operations are now continuing to deal with an escape of plastic nurdles, which have begun to be washed up on beaches in north Norfolk and others areas around The Wash.

Chief Coastguard Paddy O’Callaghan said on Tuesday: “Both the Solong and Stena Immaculate remain stable and salvage operations are ongoing.

“Fires on board the Solong have been extinguished and temperature monitoring has been set up.

“A retrieval operation continues today after plastic nurdles were sighted in waters just off The Wash and at disparate locations along the shore between Old Hunstanton and Wells-next-the-Sea.

“Coastguard rescue teams and other specialist counter-pollution assets are assisting with this response.

“Regular aerial surveillance flights continue to monitor both vessels and the retrieval operation.”

A statement from the shipping company Ernst Russ, which owns the Solong, said on Tuesday: “We can confirm that a number of containers on board Solong contain plastic nurdles.

“We understand that no containers holding nurdles have been lost over the side.

“What we understand may have occurred, is that intense heat during initial firefighting efforts caused one or more of the openings of some of the smaller containers to open, resulting in the release of some contents.”

The firm said it had “proactively deployed assets to mitigate any long-term impact on the marine environment” and was liaising with the coastguard.

Conservation groups have said they are “deeply concerned” about the nurdles, which are not toxic but can have a devastating effect on animals, including seals, puffins and fish, if they are eaten.

Members of the public have been warned not to touch the pellets, which can be covered in other pollutants.

The National Trust said nurdles have begun to appear on Brancaster Beach, in Norfolk, and the RSPB confirmed they have washed up at the charity’s reserve at nearby Titchwell.

A trust spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that plastic nurdles have begun to wash ashore on Brancaster Beach and elsewhere along the Norfolk coast, following the North Sea tanker collision last week.

“So far, we have not seen any visible signs at Blakeney Point Nature Reserve and will next be assessing the inter-tidal salt marshes at Stiffkey.

“This is a developing situation and we are currently liaising with authorities to understand the response needed to remove loose nurdles and these charred lumps of plastic resin.

“Any pollution incident can have a devastating impact on wildlife and this is a vital time for many migratory birds as they return to our shores for the breeding season such as terns, as well as marine life including seals and fish.”

Steve Rowland, RSPB area manager, said pellets the size of lentils were washing up along miles of Norfolk coast, including the charity’s reserve at Titchwell.

He said the area is “internationally important” for birds and wildlife.

Mr Rowland said: “It’s a crucial migration route at this time of year, a vital feeding place for seabirds, and soon the nesting site for rare and threatened terns and wading birds.

“Currently the pollution is on the tideline, but we only have a few days to get this off the beaches before rising tides disperse the debris and it is washed back into the sea and into the food chain.

“This is a real race against time – we’ve got about seven days before the tides change.”

Sophie Benbow, director of marine at the charity Fauna & Flora, said: “Once lost into the ocean, these tiny pieces of plastic are almost impossible to contain.

“Plastic pellets are one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution globally and pose a grave threat to nature and coastal communities.”

Both vessels remain in the North Sea, with the Stena Immaculate at anchor 12 miles off Withernsea, and the Solong about 20 miles further south, off Mablethorpe.

The company managing the Stena Immaculate described at the weekend how the “heroic” crew of the US fuel tanker had triggered a crucial fire-fighting system before abandoning ship meaning that only 17,515 barrels of the 220,000 barrels of jet fuel being carried have been lost.

A total of 36 people were rescued from the ships following the collision but a sailor from the Solong – named as 38-year-old Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia – is missing and presumed dead.

The Solong’s captain, Vladimir Motin, 59, of St Petersburg, Russia, appeared at Hull Magistrates’ Court on Saturday morning charged with gross negligence manslaughter and was remanded in custody.

:: Members of the public have been asked to report nurdle finds to the Humber Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre on 0344 382 0580 or email zone8@hmcg.gov.uk.