Ships crash in the North Sea

At around 10am on March 10th the Solong (pictured), a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship, and the Stena Immaculate, a tanker carrying jet fuel for America’s armed forces, collided off the east coast of England. The Solong was reportedly travelling at 16 knots (30kph) when it struck the Stena Immaculate, which was at anchor on its way to the port of Hull. Prolonged fires burned on both vessels; 36 crew were rescued; one person is unaccounted for. The Solong’s German owner, Ernst Russ, said that, contrary to early reports, its ship was not carrying sodium cyanide, a toxic chemical. The ship’s captain, a 59-year-old Russian, was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. It is too early to assess the environmental damage caused by the Stena Immaculate’s cargo or other leakages. ■