The captain of a ship that collided with a tanker in the North Sea, causing a huge fire and leaving one crew member missing and thought dead, was arrested by British authorities on Tuesday on suspicion of manslaughter.
There are still concerns about potential damage to the local marine life and fauna, therefore investigations into what caused the cargo ship to collide with the jet fuel tanker on Monday have already begun.
All 23 crew members of the US-flagged Stena Immaculate tanker, which was chartered by the US military, were among the 36 persons rescued Monday by the UK Coastguard, which spearheaded the operation.
However, UK under-secretary for transport Mike Kane informed parliament that a missing member of the crew of the Solong cargo ship was “likely deceased.”
A 59-year-old man was taken into custody by Humberside Police in northeastern England on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in relation to the collision.
“I can confirm that the master of the… Solong has been detained by Humberside police in the UK,” the cargo ship’s owner, Ernst Russ, then said in a statement.
“The master and our entire team are actively assisting with the investigations,” it added.
Kane said the fire on the Stena Immaculate “appears to be extinguished” but this was not immediately confirmed by the Coastguard.
“The Solong is still alight and the fire on board the Stena Immaculate has greatly diminished,” the UK Coastguard said.
The Coastguard was closely monitoring the Solong, which had broken free of the tanker overnight and was limping southwards, accompanied by four tugboats, including one which had a line attached to the stricken vessel.
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