North Sea latest: 'Multiple explosions' as tanker and ship crash in North Sea - with jet fuel spilling into sea and vessels on fire

Sky News

10-03-2025

One person in hospital, MP says, with 36 'safe and accounted for'
A local MP has said he understands "only one person" is in hospital after the collision.
Graham Stuart, who represents Beverley and Holderness in east Yorkshire, said "the other 36 mariners across both crews are safe and accounted for".
According to him, this means there were 37 people altogether on both vessels.
"I've now spoken with the transport secretary and I understand that only one person is in hospital," he said.
"While we will be thankful that everyone has been brought ashore, I continue to be concerned about the potential ecological impact."
Coastguard emergency call emerges
The message broadcast by the Coastguard after the collision warned other ships to stay well away from the area.
In audio shared on social media, the Coastguard can be heard warning Solong "has collided" with Stena Immaculate.
"Both vessels are abandoning," the message continued.
"Vessels who have firefighting equipment or can assist with search and rescue, contact Humber Coastguard.
"Stena is carrying jet A1 fuel, which is on fire and in the water. Vessels - remain at safe distance."
Investigation team sent to scene - and it could take months
It may take months for a conclusion, but investigators are making their way to the scene.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has sent a team to Grimsby to "gather evidence".
A spokesperson said: "Our team of inspectors and support staff are gathering evidence and undertaking a preliminary assessment of the accident to determine our next steps."
Joshua Hutchinson, a managing director at maritime risk firm Ambrey, told us earlier the investigation could "take several weeks, if not months".
'Multiple explosions' as vessels collided and jet fuel released into sea
Our earlier report that jet fuel may have been on board the tanker has now been confirmed.
Crowley, the firm managing the Stena Immaculate, has said the tanker sustained a "ruptured cargo tank".
This caused "multiple explosions" and released jet fuel into the sea.
The crew "abandoned" the vessel, the firm added, and all mariners are "safe and fully accounted for".
"Crowley immediately initiated its emergency vessel response plan and is actively working with public agencies to contain the fire and secure the vessel," it said.
"Our first priority is the safety of the people and environment.
"We will provide more updates as information becomes available."
Here's everything we know so far
This is a fast-moving story - so here's everything we know so far about the collision between a ship and a tanker in the North Sea. The two ships involved are a US-flagged oil tanker called the Stena Immaculate and the Solong - a container ship sailing under a Portuguese flag;
The collision took place around 13 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire in the North Sea;
So far, 32 casualties have been reported, but all are thought to be alive;
Sky News has been told this number could rise as the Port of Grimsby East is expecting another vessel, after having received three already;
The alarm was first raised at 9.48am, and at 10.20am HM Coastguard tasked a number of lifeboats to support its response;
Tracking data shows the moment of the crash, with the Stena Immaculate seemingly stationary as the Solong sails towards it;
The RNLI said there had been reports that people had "abandoned the vessels,";
Dramatic images and video show the ships on fire, with plumes of black smoke rising into the air;
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said she is "concerned" by news of the collision, and was liaising with officials;
Experts have told Sky News that autopilot could have been involved in the crash, and jet fuel could have been carried by one of the ships.
Number of casualties could rise as port expects another vessel
The number of casualties could rise further as one port key in the response to the collision has said it is expecting another ship.
We previously reported that 32 people, all thought to be alive, had been brought to the Port of Grimsby East.
Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the port, told Kamali Melbourne that three ships had arrived at the docks throughout the morning.
But he added was expecting at least one more.
"As I look out my window, the ambulances are still waiting and apparently there's another vessel coming with some more casualties," he said.
The first boat to arrive had 13 people on board and was a Windcat 33 vessel that takes people out to wind turbines and had been in the vicinity.
This was followed by 10 casualties on a pilot boat operated by Associated British Ports, which owns the Port of Immingham.
Another pilot boat brought in nine casualties.
Autopilot could have led to crash, port chief says
Autopilot could have led to the crash between the container and the tanker in the North Sea, a port chief has told Sky News.
In our 2.12pm post, we brought you some comments from Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East, as he spoke to Kamali Melbourne.
During the interview, he was asked about tracking software which showed the Solong heading for the seemingly stationary Stena Immaculate before the collision, raising questions of what took place.
He said it might have been a case of autopilot: "One of them was at anchor and the other would have set a course.
"They have a thing called autopilot, and that's what I would suspect has been the issue.
"If it's been put on autopilot and there's no one on the bridge, which could happen, then it'd just go straight on.
"Autopilot just steers a course, they don't deviate, there's no bend in the sea.
"They just go straight for miles, hundreds of miles, and it would've gone in a straight direction.
"It's difficult to understand what happened, or why it happened."
He added there would've been alarms on the bridge, which raised even more questions about how the collision unfolded.
Images reveal damage to US-flagged tanker engulfed in flames
By Olive Enokido-Lineham, OSINT producer
Images obtained by Sky News show the US-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate on fire. One photo appears to show large plumes of smoke appearing from the port side of the ship.
Another image taken by the same person shows the bow of the Stena Immaculate in flames. In the image above, the helm does not appear to be on fire, but the bow of the ship is completely covered by smoke.
We used historical images of the vessel and compared them to the images we obtained to determine some of the areas of the Immaculate that have sustained damage.
According to the Stena Bulk website, the Immaculate was built in 2017 and is 183m long. It's operated by a shipping company based in the US called Crowley Maritime.
The American tanker was at anchor, according to ship tracking tool Vesselfinder.
Port chief says all 32 casualties were brought in alive
A port chief has told Sky News that all of the 32 casualties brought in were alive when they arrived at his port.
Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East, said he was told to ready his port at around 11am.
"We were put on standby around about 11 o'clock to receive casualties - not knowing what condition they were in," he told our presenter Kamali Melbourne.
He said the first boat arrived with 13 people on board - an off-shore windfarm vessel that had been in the vicinity when the crash took place.
Then two other vessels followed shortly after, bringing the rest of the casualties.
He continued: "There was a line of ambulances waiting to take them to the Princess Diana hospital.
"They were alive. We didn't see [more] the area was sectioned off by police. I do know that they were all alive."
Ambulance service on scene in Grimsby
We've just heard from the East Midlands Ambulance Service - here's their statement in full:
We received a call at 11.28am on Monday 10 March to North Quay in Grimsby.
We've sent multiple resources, including our Hazardous Area Response Team, and we are currently still on scene.