Captain of Solong container ship involved in North Sea crash is Russian national, company says

The captain of the Solong – the container ship involved in the crash in the North Sea – is a Russian national, the vessel’s owner has said.

The rest of the crew were Russian and Filipino nationals, according to shipping company Ernst Russ.

It comes after police said a man had been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with Monday’s collision.

Humberside Police said a 59-year-old is in custody to allow enquiries to take place, and officers are talking to those involved to find out what happened.

The force added investigators have started a criminal probe into the cause of the collision between the Stena Immaculate and Solong off the coast of East Yorkshire on Monday, and are working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

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.

The Stena Immaculate was at anchor when it was struck by the smaller Solong, causing huge fires and explosions – the smoke from which was visible from space.

One missing, presumed dead

One person remains missing and is presumed dead.

In the immediate aftermath of the collision, dozens of people were forced to abandon the vessels as they caught fire.

The Stena Immaculate had been carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel in 16 segregated cargo tanks – at least one of which “was ruptured” during the collision, Crowley, the maritime company managing the Stena Immaculate, said.

It added that the jet fuel spill was having a “limited” impact.

Coastguard rescued 36 people, with ambulances lining up at a nearby port as emergency services readied their response.

All 23 people on board the oil tanker Stena Immaculate were accounted for, but one of the 14 crew members of the Solong is still missing.

A search for them was called off Monday evening.

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Solong failed safety checks

It has also emerged that the Solong failed steering-related safety checks last year.

Port state control (PSC) inspection documents from July last year show how officials warned that the cargo ship’s “emergency steering position communications/compass reading” was “not readable”.

It was among 10 issues highlighted during an inspection of the Portuguese-flagged ship.

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

Another inspection in October 2024 found two issues with the Solong.

One of these was related to lifebuoys, warning they were “not properly marked”.

No action was taken or punishment given as a result of the issues found.