London (AFP) – The captain of a cargo ship that struck a tanker and sparked a massive blaze in the North Sea will be held in custody for a further 36 hours, UK police said Thursday. Officers want more time to question the 59-year-old Russian arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following Monday’s incident, which left one crew member missing and presumed dead.
Authorities are investigating how the Portuguese-flagged Solong cargo ship ran into the US-flagged Stena Immaculate, which was anchored about 13 miles (20 kilometres) off the northeastern English port of Hull. The tanker was chartered by the US military and carrying thousands of barrels of jet fuel. Earlier this week the UK government ruled out foul play.
“An extension has been granted by the magistrates’ court to detain the man in custody for a further 36 hours,” said Craig Nicholson of Humberside Police. “Detectives are continuing to question him following his arrest on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision.”
The crash triggered huge fires aboard the two ships, which required a massive high-seas firefighting effort to bring under control. The UK coastguard said Thursday that “small pockets of fire” remained on the top deck of the Solong, which has been towed to a safe place. The blaze on the Stena Immaculate has been extinguished by Wednesday, according to its US-based operator.
– ‘Reasonably contained’ –
The UK coastguard rescued 36 people on Monday, including the Stena Immaculate’s entire crew, but police say a missing member of the Solong vessel crew is presumed dead. On Thursday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the situation was now “reasonably contained,” but he stressed: “We have to get to the bottom of it.”
In a statement on Thursday, the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch said it would seek to analyse devices that record voyage data from the vessels. It said it had already established that the Solong was taking a regular route between Grangemouth in Scotland and Rotterdam in The Netherlands on Monday. But it “altered course” at around 0130 GMT and struck the Stena Immaculate at 0947 GMT.
At least one tank containing some of the 220,000 barrels of jet fuel on board the Stena Immaculate was “ruptured,” said the tanker’s US-based operator Crowley. But there were “no further reports of pollution to the sea” following the initial incident, said the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
While the financial costs incurred from the incident are not clear, the Morningstar DBRS credit ratings agency estimates that total insured losses could range from $100 million to $300 million.
© 2024 AFP
