A U.S.-flagged tanker carrying jet fuel was struck by a cargo ship in the North Sea off the coast of eastern England on Monday, triggering multiple explosions and setting both vessels on fire, officials said. An English port boss said he had been told there was “a massive fireball” following the collision.
A local lawmaker, Graham Stuart, said he had been told by U.K. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander that 37 crew members were aboard the two ships, and one was hospitalized.
“The other 36 mariners across both crews are safe and accounted for,” he said.
Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East, said 13 casualties were brought in on a Windcat 33 high-speed vessel, followed by another 19 on a harbor pilot boat. He said he was told about the fireball following the collision.
“It’s too far out for us to see — about 10 miles — but we have seen the vessels bringing them in,” he said. “They must have sent a mayday out. Luckily there was a crew transfer vessel out there already. Since then, there has been a flotilla of ambulances to pick up anyone they can find.”
Erik Hanell, CEO of the Stena Immaculate’s co-owner Stena Bulk, told BBC News that the ship’s crew consisted of more than 20 people.
Alexander said she was being kept up to date on the developing situation. The incident was being investigated by the U.K.’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
Where did ships collide in the North Sea?
Crowley Maritime, which operates the U.S.-flagged chemical and oil products carrier MV Stena Immaculate, said the tanker was anchored in the North Sea off the coast of Hull, about 155 miles north of London, when it was struck by the Portugal-flagged container ship Solong.
A cargo tank containing jet fuel ruptured, leaking fuel and a fire broke out, Crowley said.
“The Stena Immaculate crew abandoned the vessel following multiple explosions onboard,” Crowley said. “All Crowley mariners are safe and fully accounted for.”
The company said it was working with authorities to contain the fire and secure the vessel.
A U.S. official confirmed that the Stena Immaculate was carrying cargo in support of the Defense Department, CBS News senior national security correspondent Charlie D’Agata reported. The collision will not impact operations or combat readiness, the official said.
According to the BBC, the Stena Immaculate was en route from Agio Theodoroi in Greece to Killingholme in the U.K. It is one of just 10 tankers enlisted in a U.S. government program designed to supply the armed forces with fuel during times of armed conflict or national emergency, the BBC reported.
Britain’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the alarm was raised at 9:48 a.m. local time (5:48 a.m. EDT).
Yann Schreiber and Paz Pizarro/AFP via Getty Images
The Stena Immaculate was at anchor near the port of Grimsby after sailing from Greece, according to ship-tracking site VesselFinder. The Solong was sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The coast guard said several lifeboats and a coast guard rescue helicopter were dispatched to the scene in the North Sea, along with a coast guard plane and nearby vessels with firefighting capability.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution said “there were reports that a number of people had abandoned the vessels following a collision and there were fires on both ships.” It said three lifeboats were working on search and rescue at the scene alongside the coast guard.
Video footage aired by BBC News and apparently filmed from a nearby vessel showed thick black smoke pouring from both ships.
Stuart said he was concerned “about the potential ecological impact” of the spill.
Greenpeace U.K. said it was “too early to assess the extent of any environmental damage” from the collision, which took place in a busy fishing ground and close to major seabird colonies.
Scientists said the environmental impact might be less severe than with a spill of heavier crude oil.
“Whilst the images look worrying, from the perspective of the impact to the aquatic environment it’s less of a concern than if this had been crude oil because most of the jet fuel will evaporate very quickly,” said Mark Hartl of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology at Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University.
Mark Sephton, professor of organic geochemistry at Imperial College London, said jet fuel disintegrates more quickly than crude oil, and warmer temperatures also speed biodegradation.
“In the end, it all depends on the rate of introduction of fuel and the rate of destruction by bacteria,” he said. “Let’s hope the latter wins out.”
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