Police have arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as one man is missing, presumed dead, following the incident.
New thermal-imaging footage has emerged, showing the moments leading up to Monday’s North Sea crash, when a container ship – whose Russian captain is now under-arrest – collided with a US oil tanker in thick fog. ITV News North of England Reporter Amy Welch explains.
The captain of the Solong cargo ship who was arrested after crashing into an oil tanker in the North Sea is a Russian national, according to the ship’s owner.
Solong struck the Stena Immaculate off the east coast of Yorkshire on Monday morning – one man is missing, presumed dead, following the incident.
A spokesman for shipping company Ernst Russ, which owns Solong, said: “The captain is a Russian national.”
The 59-year-old was arrested by Humberside Police on Tuesday on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
The force said on Wednesday morning the suspect “remains in our custody”.
American-based maritime news website gCaptain reported that it was told by a US official in the White House that foul play had not been ruled out.
The Solong is drifting and on fire, but is no longer expected to sink.
Port state control (PSC) inspection documents show the ship failed steering-related safety checks in July last year.
Irish officials deemed Solong’s “emergency steering position communications/compass reading” was “not readable”.
This was among 10 deficiencies highlighted during the inspection of the Portuguese vessel in Dublin. Other issues included alarms being “inadequate”, survival craft “not properly maintained”, and fire doors “not as required”.
Another PSC inspection by Scottish authorities in Grangemouth in October 2024 found two deficiencies with Solong.
One of these was related to lifebuoys – designed to be thrown into the water to prevent drowning – being “not properly marked”.
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