The Russian citizen was revealed to be the captain of a cargo ship that collided with a US tanker off the coast of England, causing a massive fire, spilling jet fuel into the sea, leaving one person dead.
The 59-year-old remained in British police custody on Wednesday after being detained on suspicion of manslaughter due to gross negligence, according to Ernst Russ, the owner of the Portuguese Solon freighter. The ship's 14-person crew members were a mixture of Russian and Filipino nationals, he added. One of them remains missing and is estimated to be dead.
Solon collided on Monday with MV Stena Immaculate, a US tanker transport that transports jet fuel for the US military. US-based Crowley Ship Management said MV Stena Immaculate was pinned near Hull when it was attacked, and that all 23 onboards have not been reported as “safe and considered.”
Before the collision, Solon was inspected in Dublin, Ireland last July, and according to the Associated Press, it found to have 10 defects.
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On Tuesday, March 11th, a huge wave of smoke from a MV Solon cargo ship in the North Sea off England. (Dunkitwood/pool photo via AP)
According to port inspection documents, steering-related safety checks with the ship's “emergency steering position communication/compass reading” failed. There were also “inadequate” alarms, survival craft “not maintained properly”, and “if necessary” fire doors.
The second inspection in Scotland in October later found two more defects, but neither inspection reported that the ship was not detained.
However, British authorities said they would not suspect a foul play in the crash.
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The captain of the MV Solon freighter is a 59-year-old Russian citizen, The Associated Press said the ship's owners have said. (Dunkitwood/pool photo via AP)
The 596-foot Stena Immaculate was operated as part of the US government's tanker security program. This is a group of commercial vessels that can be contracted to carry military fuel if necessary.
“Crowley continues to work closely with British agencies to support incident response, rescue and environmental impact mitigation operations resulting from the container ship Solon that attacked the Crawley-controlled tanker Stena while at the anchor on Monday, March 10th,” the ship's owner said Tuesday.
A collision off the coast of Hull in England on Monday sparked a massive fire. (via bartekśmiałek)
“At this point, it remains uncertain which fuel was released as a result of the incident, but initial reviews show that the impact is limited due to fire exposure and evaporation of JET A1 fuel,” continued Crowley. “In addition, UK agencies are closely monitoring the air quality and potential public health impacts on land, both of which are currently measuring at low or normal levels.”
Water is seen flowing through the damaged hull of MV Stena's Immaculate Oil Tanker ship after colliding with a cargo ship off the northeast coast of England. (Reuters/Filnoble/TPX image of that day)
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Solon was drifting and still burning Wednesday, but it is more likely to float than it sinks, officials said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
