A cargo ship and an oil tanker collided in the North Sea off the coast of East Yorkshire, England yesterday, with one crew member missing.
The incident took place when the Portuguese-flagged container ship ‘Solong’ hit the US-flagged oil tanker ‘Stena Immaculate’, carrying 18,000 tonnes of Jet A-1 fuel for the US Navy.
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At the time of the collision, the ‘Solong’ was reportedly transporting sodium cyanide, a toxic chemical.
Both vessels caught fire following the incident, making large plumes of black smoke visible from the shore.
Rescue operations coordinated by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency involved helicopters, lifeboats, and firefighting vessels.
Thirty-six of the 37 crew members were rescued, with one person hospitalised.
However, one crew member went missing, and the search has been called.
There had also been environmental concerns due to the release of jet fuel and the presence of sodium cyanide on the ‘Solong’.
Mark Hartl from the Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland told AP News that “it’s less of a concern than if it had been crude oil”.
“Because most of the jet fuel will evaporate very quickly,” Hartl said.
“In the end, it all depends on the rate of introduction of fuel and the rate of destruction by bacteria.”
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