The owner of the Solong cargo ship, Ernst Russ, said 13 of the 14 Solong crew members have been brought ashore to Grimsby, adding efforts to locate one crewmember are “ongoing”
British ships have been warned not to leave port in the wake of the North Sea oil crash following news that a crew member from the Solong is missing.
One of the 14 crew members of the Solong cargo ship is still missing following the crash, the vessel’s owner said last night. The rest are safely ashore, according to Solong’s Hamburg-based owner, Ernst Russ. In a statement, Mr Russ said: “Thirteen of the 14 Solong crew members have been brought safely shore. Efforts to locate the missing crew member are ongoing.”
The Solong and the chemical tanker Stena Immaculate both sustained significant damage in the collision, Russ added. He told Sky News: “Both vessels have sustained significant damage in the impact of the collision and the subsequent fire.” The Humber estuary, where the collision took place at around 10am today, has now been closed to all traffic.
Vessel operator P&O ferries confirmed this evening that the estuary – which flows inland to Grimsby and Hull – has been closed to all traffic this evening. The area has been shut down as officials investigate what happened at around 10am this morning when the Solong crashed with the Stena Immaculate.
Aside from early confirmations that there were a series of explosions on the ship following the collision and that it was carrying fuel that has since leaked into the estuary, details are “still becoming clear”. Downing Street said in a statement that the crash was an “extremely concerning situation”, while thanking emergency services who rushed to the scene.
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said: “We thank the emergency services for their rapid response. I understand the Department for Transport is working closely with the coastguard to help support the response to the incident. 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 spokesman added: “My understanding is the details are still becoming clear, so I don’t want to speculate on that.” Officials mounting the investigation hail from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, which has deployed a team to conduct a preliminary assessment before compiling an official report.
