Leaking fuel from the collision between a cargo ship and oil tanker in the North Sea would have a “devastating” impact on marine life, experts have said, as investigations began into the cause of the incident.
Fires continued to burn onboard both vessels 24 hours after the Stena Immaculate tanker and cargo ship Solong collided off the coast of Yorkshire on Monday morning. A search for a missing crew member was called off overnight.
As investigations stepped up, Downing Street said no evidence of foul play had been found. The owner of the Solong, the German maritime firm Ernst Russ, said the vessel was not carrying any containers “ladened with sodium cyanide”, contrary to reports.
HM Coastguard said the Solong had separated from the Stena Immaculate, which was carrying jet fuel for the US military, at 11.20pm on Monday – about 13 hours after the collision – and had begun to drift southwards. A spokesperson said it was monitoring the development and that a 1km exclusion zone was in place.
Environmental experts warned that the jet fuel leaking from the 183-metre-long Stena Immaculate was toxic for humans and wildlife.
Dr Simon Boxall, an academic in oceanography at the University of Southampton, said the Jet A-1 fuel had a “much higher toxicity” than crude oil and that “the impact of that on life in the oceans would be devastating”.
The ships collided close near a known breeding ground for harbour porpoises as well as a number of other marine and wildlife protected areas, which could now be under threat from any contaminants leaking from the wrecks, environmental NGOs warned.
Just east of the collision site is the Humber Estuary and The Wash, one of the UK’s most important ecosystems which is home to hundreds of thousands of seabirds, said Sandy Luk, the chief executive of the Marine Conservation Society.
“Thousands of seals and their pups call this stretch of coast home at this time of year, and there are protected areas nearby for harbour porpoises and special marine habitats,” she added.
“Our biggest concern to the environment right now is the degree to which these chemicals accumulate or disperse, both into the water column and the distance they travel. This all depends on the weather, the currents and the extent of the spill.”
Dr Paul Johnston, a senior scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at Exeter University, said: “The jet fuel that entered the water close to a breeding ground for harbour porpoises is toxic to fish and other sea creatures. While we don’t know about the status of the containers holding sodium cyanide, we’re dealing with a highly toxic chemical that could cause serious harm.”
A US sailor onboard the Stena Immaculate told CBS News that the Solong “came out of the blue”, giving those onboard “only seconds to react”.
The crew member described how flames were lapping at the sailors as they evacuated the burning vessel, leaving some with singed hair.
The whole incident from impact to evacuation lasted about 30 minutes, they said.
The crew member said the Stena Immaculate had anchored at that spot and relayed its coordinates on Sunday, meaning all other vessels should have known where it was.
Dr Seyedvahid Vakili, a maritime expert at the University of Southampton, said it was difficult to determine the main cause of the collision but that in most cases “human factors play a significant role”.
“This is particularly relevant for container vessels where high workloads and fatigue can be major contributing factors. At this stage it needs further comprehensive investigation,” he said.
Matthew Pennycook, a government minister, said coastguard aircraft were monitoring the site of the incident. He said: “We are working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to assess the impact on water pollution. The fire is obviously still raging.”
He added: “The Maritime and Coastguard Agency are well equipped to contain and disperse any oil spills. We don’t think air quality impacts are outside of normal levels, but we will keep the situation under review.”
Information from Bloomberg/Kepler showed the Stena Immaculate was holding 140,000 barrels of jet fuel while at anchor near Hull.
