Rescue Underway After Tanker & Containership Collision in UK

A large-scale rescue operation is in progress in the North Sea after a product tanker and a containership collided and caught fire off the coast of Hull, East Yorkshire, UK.

The US-flagged MR tanker Stena Immaculate, which was anchored near the Humber Estuary, was struck by the Portugal-flagged containership Solong.

Emergency response teams, including lifeboats, firefighting crews, helicopters, a fixed-wing aircraft, and the UK coastguard, are actively coordinating rescue efforts at the scene. Several individuals have reportedly abandoned the vessels and were brought safely ashore. The incident occurred around 09:48 local time yesterday.

The 183-meter-long Stena Immaculate, owned by Stena Bulk and managed by Crowley in the US, had recently arrived from Agioi Theodoroi, Greece, carrying Jet-A1 fuel.

In a joint statement, the companies confirmed that the ship sustained damage to a cargo tank, leading to a fuel spill in the sea. They assured that "all mariners are safe and accounted for."

The 140-meter-long, 800 TEU Solong, owned by Germany’s Ernst Russ, was en route from Grangemouth, Scotland, to Rotterdam, Netherlands, at the time of the accident.

The exact cause of the allision remains unknown. As of yesterday, the UK coastguard stated that "the incident remains ongoing."