North Sea: 37 crew brought ashore after ship collision

A large fire erupted after a container ship collided with an oil tanker that was carrying jet fuel off the coast of the UK. Rescuers said some people abandoned the vessels after the incident.

A cargo ship hit an oil tanker off the eastern coast of the United Kingdom on Monday, causing a large fire on both vessels and triggering a rescue operation.

The incident occurred in the North Sea near the city of Hull, and the alarm was first raised at 9:48 a.m. (UTC/GMT).

Local lawmaker Graham Stuart said 37 crew members aboard the two ships had been brought to shore.

One person was hospitalized, he added.

Authorities had initially said 32 people were injured.

Lifeboats, firefighting vessels, a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft were deployed to respond to the incident.

"There were reports that a number of people had abandoned the vessels following a collision and there were fires on both ships," the Royal National Lifeboat Institution said.
Oil tanker was carrying jet fuel

The oil tanker involved in the collision was US-flagged chemical and oil products carrier MV Stena Immaculate, which is managed by maritime company Crowley.

The ship was carrying jet fuel at the time of the collision.

"While anchored off the North Sea coast near Hull, United Kingdom, the Crowley-managed tanker Stena Immaculate was struck by the container ship Solong," Crowley said in a statement.

"The Stena Immaculate sustained a ruptured cargo tank containing Jet-A1 fuel... crew abandoned the vessel following multiple explosions onboard."

The other vessel involved in the incident was the Portugal-flagged container ship Solong, which was sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

It is owned by German shipping company Reederei Koepping.
Rescue operation underway

The British Maritime and Coastguard agency said it is "currently coordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire."

"The incident remains ongoing and an assessment of the likely counter pollution response required is being enacted," a coast guard spokesperson added.

Environmental group Greenpeace said it was too early to judge what kind of cleanup might be needed.

"The magnitude of any impact will depend on a number of factors, including the amount and type of oil carried by the tanker, the fuel carried by both ships, and how much of that, if any, has entered the water," a spokesperson for the group said.

The UN's shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, also said it was aware of the situation.