The 59-year-old captain of the German-owned containership “Solong” has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter following a deadly collision with a US military-chartered tanker off England’s East Yorkshire coast.
The incident left one crew member missing and both vessels engulfed in flames.
The collision occurred at approximately 10:00 UTC on Monday when the Solong struck the anchored US-flagged tanker “Stena Immaculate” near Hull.
The tanker, operated by US-based Crowley, was awaiting berth at the Port of Killingholme and carrying 220,000 barrels of Jet-A1 fuel across 16 segregated cargo tanks.
At least one of these tanks ruptured during the collision, igniting a fire on board.
Automatic Identification System (AIS) data reveals that the Solong was traveling at around 16 knots and made no evasive maneuvers before directly colliding with the Stena Immaculate.
The containership was on a routine voyage from the Port of Grangemouth, Scotland, to Rotterdam, Netherlands.
One tanker crew member described the incident as coming “out of nowhere.”
The vessel’s German owner, Ernst Russ, confirmed the captain’s arrest by Humberside Police, stating: “The master and our entire team are actively assisting with the investigations. Out of respect for the investigation and all involved, we will not comment further at this time.”
A criminal investigation has been launched by Humberside Police, in collaboration with the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson, the senior investigating officer, stated: “Humberside Police have taken primacy for the investigation of any potential criminal offences arising from the collision between the two vessels. Following enquiries undertaken by my team, we have arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision.”
Search operations by HM Coastguard for the missing crew member of the Solong have concluded, and authorities continue to investigate the cause of the incident.
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