Container ship collides with anchored US-flagged oil tanker in North Sea

A Portuguese container ship collided with a U.S.-flagged oil tanker while the tanker was anchored in the North Sea, on the eastern coast of England, with both ships catching on fire, according to officials.

The U.S. ship was identified as the Stena Immaculate, while the Portuguese-flagged container ship was identified as the Solong. Both ships sustained significant damage and were abandoned by their crews.

Thirty-six people between the two ships were safely brought to shore, with one person transported to a hospital, the U.K. coast guard said.

One of the Solong's crew members remains missing in the wake of the collision, while the other 13 were brought safely to shore, according to Ernst Russ, the manager of the container vessel.

The search for the missing crew member was unsuccessful, the U.K. coast guard said in an update Monday night.

"One crew member of the SOLONG remains unaccounted for, after an extensive search for the missing crew member sadly they have not been found and the search has ended," Matthew Atkinson, divisional commander for the U.K. coast guard, said in a statement.

All 23 crew members of the Stena Immaculate were safely rescued, Crowley, the ship's manager, said. No injuries have been reported at this time among the crew, the company said.

"The two vessels remain on fire and coastguard aircraft are monitoring the situation," Atkinson said.

The incident occurred at approximately 10 a.m. UTC, while the Stena Immaculate was stationary and anchored about 10 miles off the North Sea coast near Hull, England, according to Crowley.

At least one cargo tank containing Jet-A1 fuel ruptured and multiple explosions occurred onboard the tanker, Crowley said.

It is unclear how much fuel has leaked from the ship, Crowley said. The Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel in 16 segregated cargo tanks at the time it was struck, Crowley said.

"As with all our operations, Crowley's priority is to protect the safety of mariners, and the environment," Cal Hayden, vice president of Crowley global ship management, said in a statement. "We greatly appreciate the quick actions and support of the U.K. authorities, rescue workers and others to today's incident and remain committed to working with them on the continued response efforts."

The cause of the collision is under investigation, according to Port of Grimsby East CEO Martyn Boyers.

He noted that there was likely fog in the area at the time of the incident.

A spokesperson for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said details of the collision were "still becoming clear" and did not want to speculate on the cause.

"We're obviously monitoring the situation, we'll continue to co-ordinate the response and we're grateful to emergency personnel for their continued efforts," the spokesperson said, calling it an "extremely concerning situation."

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said it has deployed a team to Grimsby, adding, "Our team of inspectors and support staff are gathering evidence and undertaking a preliminary assessment of the accident to determine our next steps."

The Stena Immaculate was carrying jet fuel for the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, according to a Crowley spokesperson.

The tanker was anchored while awaiting berth availability at the Port of Killingholme, "where it was due to make a standard delivery of fuel as part of a routine service under this program when it was struck," Crowley said.

A helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft, several lifeboats and vessels with firefighting capabilities responded to the incident, the Coast Guard said.

"An assessment of any required counter pollution response is being carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency," Atkinson said.

Wildlife charity Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said it is closely following the "deeply concerning incident" to see if there is any pollution into the North Sea. The region features the Humber Estuary, home to protected bird colonies. There are also "significant numbers" of Atlantic grey seals in the area, the group said.

"If pollution spillage enters the Humber, this could potentially be devasting for the wildlife of the estuary, including important fish stocks and tens of thousands of overwintering and migrating birds who use the mud flats," Martin Slater, director of operations at the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said in a statement.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.