Collidate oil tankers and cargo ship, massive fire in front of the UK coast

A container ship collided on Monday morning at 9:48 a.m. with an oil tanker off the east coast of the United Kingdom. The crash caused a massive fire and gallon oil to be poured into the North Sea, with the emergency efforts being undertaken. According to the local officials, a person was taken to the hospital as a result of the collision, while another 36 people – members of both crews – were pulled ashore. It is assumed that all crew members are taken into account.

According to the New York Times, the ships involved in the collision were the Stena Maculate, an oil tanker registered in the USA and the Solong, a container ship that sailed under the Portuguese flag. According to reports, the Solong left the harbor in Scotland on Sunday and was on the way to Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The Stena Immaculate was anchored at the time of the impact, which raises some concerns about the incident – how did the container ship hit a stationary oil tanker on bright daylight?

In an interview with BBC News, the maritime security advisor David McFarlane said: “There should be no reason for two ships to collide under these conditions” and that “something has happened very badly”. He noticed that there are quite standard for ships placed in autopilot, but there should be someone on watches if the course correction is required. McFarlane said that it would “take weeks if not months to come to a proper conclusion”.

Martyn Boyers, Managing Director of Grimsby East port, offered CNN similar feelings. “It really seems to be a mystery, because all ships now have very highly developed technical devices to plan courses and to look at any obstacles or everything they have to avoid,” he told The News Outlet. “It is difficult to actually suggest what was going on, except for the fact that it should never have happened.”

The United Kingdom has used its branch for marine accident examinations to collect evidence and make a preliminary assessment of what the collision has caused. Reuters reported that there are no signs of malicious activities that may have led to the crash.

The Guardian reported that the Stena Maknulate promoted a jet bracelet that belongs to the US military. According to reports, the collision reported a fire on board the stena macumulate, which led to several explosions and ultimately led to the crew left the ship. It is believed that the jet fuel has come into the North Sea on board the ship, which probably leads to a lengthy clean-up work. Since it is lighter and more sophisticated, jet fuel is usually easier to clean than crude oil, but probably lead to some adverse effects on the environment.