Fuel tanker smash survivor reveals cargo ship that hit it ‘got here out of the blue’ as house owners say NO Sodium Cyanide was on board however specialists warn of atmosphere impression catastrophe

A survivor of Monday’s horrifying jet fuel tanker smash has relived his crew’s life-or-death escape as their ship exploded around them after being hit by a cargo vessel. 

The US-flagged MV Stena Immaculate was engulfed by a huge fireball after the Portuguese ship, MV Solong ‘came out the blue’ and ploughed into it. 

It was feared the Solong was packed with barrels of sodium cyanide, which had spilled into the water. However, the ship’s owners have today insisted the toxic chemical was not on board at time of yesterday’s crash.  

The inferno sparked a desperate scramble to abandon ship by sailors on both of the doomed vessels, as thousands of litres of jet fuel poured into the North Sea and ignited, in a fierce blaze that could be seen 13 miles away on the East Yorkshire coast.

Speaking to CBS after being rescued, the American sailor claimed his crew only had ‘seconds to react’ to the impact, which punctured the Stena’s cargo tanks. 

The experienced seaman said the 7,852-tonne Solong did not stop immediately following the crash and drove into the Immaculate for 10 minutes, the sailor added. 

The American, who asked not to be named as workers had been banned from speaking to the media by bosses, described the crew rushing to put on protective gear to help battle the blaze before realising it was a hopeless cause. 

Sailors from the Immaculate then piled into a lifeboat to escape, with the captain being the last person to leave the ruined ship, as flames started to engulf the 600ft vessel. 

The ferocity of the fire was so intense, it singed the hair of the fleeing sailors as flames lapped the ship during their hellish 30-minute escape. 

He added as the ship had anchored on Sunday and that their coordinates had been relayed, everyone should have known where the ship was.

A total of 36 mariners were rescued yesterday after abandoning ships as explosions rocked their doomed vessels amid fears of an environmental disaster.

One sailor on the Solong’s 14-strong crew has not been found and is now feared dead.  

Jet fuel gushed into the North Sea from the ruptured hold of the US-flagged oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate, which was transporting American military supplies. It had been at anchor when Portuguese-registered cargo ship MV Solong crashed into it.

Today pollution from the collision has been dubbed an ‘immediate environmental disaster’ by experts, who fear the situation could get worse.  

Leaking oil and fuel being released could leave a ‘toxic legacy’ for ocean wildlife that should be protected, according to Hugo Tagholm, executive director of Oceana UK. 

He said the spill could have a ‘long term impact’ on ecosystems which are home to threatened seabird colonies, grey seals, harbour porpoises, fish, and minke whales.

Martin Slater, of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, warned it could potentially be ‘devastating’ to the Humber estuary, with birds and seals at risk, and that he was ‘very worried’ about it. 

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said the disaster was close to the biggest gannet colony in England and warned a leak could be ‘lethal’ to seabirds.

Dave O’Hara, of the RSPB, said: ‘The incident is close to Bempton Cliffs, home to the biggest gannet colony in England.’

The charity’s Richard Barnard added: ‘Oil directly impacts seabirds, coating their feathers and reducing their waterproofing and buoyancy, which can lead to drowning, or it can poison them through ingestion.’

Experts fear the spill could take ‘weeks or longer’ to clean up with harmful waste expected to wash up on parts of the eastern coast of England in the coming days. 

The Solong is still burning and adrift and is expected to sink. It’s currently being supported by three tug ships. 

Pictures show the vessel’s charred and blackened superstructure appeared warped and extremely damaged following Monday’s disaster. 

There had been fears that the cargo hauler had been carrying barrels full of deadly sodium cyanide aboard when it crashed. 

However, a spokesman for Ernst Russ AG, the German company which owns the MV Solong, said: ‘We are able to confirm that there are no containers on board ladened with sodium cyanide, as has been misreported.

‘There are four empty containers that have previously contained the hazardous chemical and these containers will continue to be monitored.

‘We extend our deepest sympathy to the family of the missing crew member, mindful that the search has been called off. Our first thoughts must be with them at this uncertain and distressing time. All necessary support is being provided to the family.’

The nightmare collision took place at 9.48am on Monday morning and triggered a major rescue effort.

It’s not clear how the crash happened. However, a senior White House official yesterday told the maritime website gCaptain.com that foul play had not been ruled out. 

There was speculation the Solong might have been hacked by Russia or other hostile states and turned into a ‘spear’.

However, this has today been denied by transport minister Mike Kane, during a speech to MPs in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon. 

The minister said something went ‘terribly wrong’ for the crash to happen, but that there was ‘no evidence’ of foul play. 

A spokesman for the Prime Minister later added: ‘I understand there doesn’t appear to be any suggestions of foul play at this time.’ 

Fires continued to burn into this morning, after the Coastguard said an ‘extensive search’ for a missing crew member from the cargo ship had been called off – with aerial video this morning showing the Immaculate’s blackened deck with a huge hole on its port side where she was ripped into.

The Solong is ‘still alight’, according to the Coastguard, who added the blaze on the Immaculate had ‘greatly diminished’. 

The two vessels had been tangled together in the aftermath of the crash. However, the separated at about 11.20pm on Monday, causing the Solon to ‘drift southwards’, the Coastguard said. 

A 1,000m exclusion zone has been placed around both ships. 

Mr Kane added the Government’s ‘working assumption’ is a missing crew member from the cargo ship Solong has died.

He told the House of Commons: ‘The full crew of 23 on the Immaculate is accounted for and onshore. One sailor was treated at the scene but declined any further medical assistance.

‘Thirteen of the 14 sailors of the MV Solong are accounted for. Search and rescue operations for the missing sailor continued throughout yesterday but were called off yesterday evening at the point at which the chances of their survival had unfortunately significantly diminished.

‘Our working assumption is that, very sadly, the sailor is deceased. The coastguard has informed the company and it has been advised to inform the next of kin. Our thoughts are with the sailor’s loved ones at this time.’

Meanwhile the Solong remains adrift at sea amid fears the vessel could sink. 

Dramatic audio footage recorded on board another ship revealed the moment a distress call was made by the coastguard via radio to alert those in the area.

A male voice was heard saying in the call: ‘Five three degrees, four four decimal two zero minutes north, I say again, five three degrees, four four decimal two zero minutes north, zero zero zero degrees, two three decimal seven five minutes east.

‘Solong has collided with tanker Stena Immaculate in the outer anchorage. Both vessels are abandoning. Vessels who have firefighting equipment or who can assist with search and rescue, contact Humber Coastguard on channel one six.

‘Vessel Stena Immaculate is carrying Jet A1 fuel, which is on fire and in the water. Request vessels remain at a safe distance. Humber Coastguard co-ordinating, date time group one zero, one zero, zero zero UTC. This is Humber Coastguard.’

Analytics firm Vortexa said 130,000 barrels of jet fuel were leaking into the water last night.

The Solong’s Hamburg-based owner Ernst Russ said that one of the ship’s 14 crew members was still missing while the rest were safely ashore.

The Solong had been sailing from the Scottish port of Grangemouth to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

As it steamed at 16 knots – about 18mph – down England’s east coast, its crew appeared not to see the enormous tanker parked ahead, ramming into it side-on.

As maritime accident investigators began work yesterday, one expert suggested ‘nobody on the cargo ship was paying attention’ as it neared the Stena Immaculate – which can carry 46.5million litres of oil – about 13 miles off the coast, east of Hull and the Humber estuary, where it had anchored overnight.

The 461ft Solong did ‘not even slow down’ as it ploughed ‘full bore’ into the side of the 600ft-long tanker while apparently on autopilot, said US naval history professor Sal Mercogliano.

In a YouTube video analysing the tracking data from the ships, he said: ‘It appears that Solong just straight-out rammed into the side of Stena Immaculate.’

Dramatic footage showed the stricken vessels entangled as they floated around consumed by an inferno, as a massive rescue operation was launched shortly after the crash at 9.48am yesterday.

Flames leapt from oil burning on the surface of the sea as RNLI lifeboats and a Coastguard helicopter plucked sailors to safety.

Lifeboat crews from Skegness, Bridlington, Mablethorpe and Cleethorpes took part in the operation, while the Humber Coastguard issued an alert for any nearby vessels with fire-fighting capabilities to help out.

They were scrambled at 10.20am – with the crews from both of the devastated vessels having abandoned ship minutes earlier. 

One rescue vessel from Cleethorpes was stood down at 11.40am, the RNLI said, while the three other boats continued with their search efforts. They were joined by a number of other civilian craft. 

Rescue efforts were hampered by fog and thick smoke which billowed from the wrecks of the two ships. 

The first reports of casualties having been pulled from the water came shortly after 1pm, with a number of crew members taken ashore. 

By 9.30pm, Matthew Atikinson, divisional commander for HM Coastguard – which was co-ordinating the rescue – said 36 people had been rescued, with one heading to hospital. 

However, in his update on Monday night he added: ‘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.’

This morning, efforts are continuing to fight the fire which ravaged the Stena Immaculate, with dramatic aerial footage showing the scale of the damage to the hulking vessel. 

The ship has a large gash on its port side, with the metal around it twisted and charred black. 

Fire suppression hoses appear to be dousing the ship with water in an attempt to cool the vessel’s superstructure following Monday’s inferno.  

The Stena Immaculate, which had travelled from the Greek port of Agioi Theodoroi, had been chartered by the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command as part of its Tanker Security Program which ‘supports US military missions across the globe’.

Dr Abdul Khalique, head of the Maritime Centre at Liverpool John Moores University who has been using simulators to reconstruct the incident, said: ‘It can be assumed that the watchkeepers on MV Solong were not performing their duty to ‘maintain a proper lookout by all available means’ as required by International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.’

Dr Tom Webb, senior lecturer in Marine Ecology and Conservation at the University of Sheffield, said: ‘The wildlife of the Yorkshire coast and Humber Estuary is of immense biological, cultural and economic importance.

‘In addition to the wealth of marine life that is present all year round, this time of the year is crucial for many migratory species.

‘Wading birds and waterfowl gather in large numbers as they move between wintering and breeding grounds, while soon Yorkshire’s iconic seabirds will be coming inshore to breed.’

Hugo Tagholm, executive director of Oceana UK, said: ‘This incident is a shocking reminder of the ferocious polluting power of oil.

‘We are seeing burning slicks, the threat of heavy fuel oil, and toxic chemicals leaking in or near not one but two marine protected areas (MPAs). Places that should be safe havens for wildlife.’

This morning a government minister sought to reassure the public over the environmental impact of Monday’s collision.

Matthew Pennycook told Times Radio on Tuesday the fire was ‘still raging’ and the Government was ‘alive to the potential impacts on the environment’.

‘The Maritime and Coastguard Agency are well equipped to contain and disperse any oil spills,’ he said. 

‘We don’t think air quality impacts are outside of normal levels, but we will keep the situation obviously under review.

‘It’s a fast-moving and dynamic situation, but all the necessary services are on the ground, both investigating and taking the immediate steps required.’

Dr Jonathan Paul, a senior lecturer in geosciences, said the environmental impact of the sodium cyanide spill would depend on whether the canisters had been pierced which was unclear last night, adding: ‘In the very worst-case scenario, you have a big spill of sodium cyanide, resulting in the death of a lot of marine organisms.’

Melanie Onn, Labour MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, said it was still not certain if sodium cyanide was on board the cargo vessel that slammed it to the tanker, but if it was ‘that would be very worrying’.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme a Government minister said it is ‘undetermined’, adding: ‘Actually, they don’t know what is in the cargo for Solong. And if it were to be the sodium cyanide, that would be very worrying. So we are waiting for kind of continuous updates on that.’

Emergency measures are in place for any injured birds that wash ashore in the coming days, which may include euthanising animals if their injuries are severe.

A spokesman for the local Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary said: ‘Hopefully, the effect on wildlife will be minimal, but there is an emergency contingency plan in place if lots of oiled birds wash up.’

Harj Narulla, an environmental law barrister from Doughty Street Chambers, said the costs of cleaning up an oil spill could be in the tens of millions of pounds. Typically the company found to have caused the spill foots the bill.

Martin Slater, of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, told the i Paper the coast was home to ‘protected and significant’ seabird colonies, with many gathering offshore ahead of the nesting season.

Dr Alex Lukyanov, researcher on advanced mathematical models of oil spills from the University of Reading, said: ‘Oil spills like the one in the North Sea are affected by multiple factors.

‘The size of the spill, weather conditions, sea currents, water waves, wind patterns, and the type of oil involved all play crucial roles in determining environmental outcomes.

‘This particular incident is troubling because it appears to involve persistent oil, which breaks up slowly in water.’

He added: ‘The environmental toll could be severe.’

US logistics group Crowley, which manages the oil tanker, said in a statement: ‘Stena Immaculate was struck by the container ship Solong.

‘The Stena Immaculate sustained a ruptured cargo tank. The Stena Immaculate crew abandoned the vessel following multiple explosions onboard.’

Crowley said it was unclear how much fuel may have been released, but that Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel in 16 segregated cargo tanks when it was struck.

Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East, said 13 casualties had been brought in initially by a commercial catamaran, followed by another ten on a harbour pilot boat and nine on another pilot’s vessel.

A total of 36 were brought ashore during the day. Mr Boyers said there had been ‘a massive fireball’, adding: ‘They must have sent a mayday out. There has been a flotilla of ambulances [at the dock] to pick up anyone they can find.’

Erik Hanell, chief executive of Stena Bulk, the company that owns the tanker said its crew of more than 20 were ‘safe and accounted for’ by lunchtime.

Ernst Russ, the company that owns the Solong, released a statement saying: ’13 of the 14 Solong crew members have been brought safely shore. Efforts to locate the missing crew member are ongoing. Both vessels have sustained significant damage in the impact of the collision and the subsequent fire.’

HM Coastguard later said efforts to find the missing person from the Solong container ship had ended after ‘an extensive search’.

Crowley vice president Cal Hayden said: ‘As with all our operations, Crowley’s priority is to protect the safety of mariners and the environment.

‘We greatly appreciate the quick actions and support of the UK authorities, rescue workers and others to today’s incident and remain committed to working with them on the continued response efforts.’

Michael Paterson, UK managing director of the tugboat firm Svitzer, told The Times seven of the company’s vessels were at the scene yesterday.

He said the incident was ‘one of the more serious that I’ve seen in my time’.

‘We don’t know how long this will last, but the phases of this are normally search and rescue and firefighting containment, and then it moves into environmental control, pollution and salvage of the vessels,’ he said.

‘We understand the search and rescue is now complete, but the firefighting will clearly still continue.’

HM Coastguard divisional commander Matthew Atkinson said an assessment of any required counter-pollution response was being carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Lifeboats and a coastguard helicopter were called to the collision in the Humber Estuary just before 10am.

One RNLI crew member told The Times the fog was so thick during the initial search and rescue crews could ‘not see a thing’.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said it had ‘deployed a team’ to Grimsby. Elsewhere, two maritime security sources were reported as saying there was no indication of ‘malicious activity’.

It is understood the US and Portugal will lead investigations into the incident and that work is ongoing to establish the full contents of both ships.

In Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the collision was an ‘extremely concerning situation’.

Collisions remain rare in the busy North Sea.

In October 2023, two cargo ships, the Verity and the Polesie, collided near Germany’s Heligoland islands in the North Sea.

Three people were killed and two others are still missing and considered dead.

In October 2015, the Flinterstar freighter, carrying 125 tonnes of diesel and 427 tonnes of fuel oil, sank after colliding with the Al Oraiq tanker eight kilometres (five miles) off the Belgian coast.