An oil tanker and a freighter collided off the coast of east England on Monday and a full-scale rescue effort is in progress, Britain’s coast guard stated.
An oil tanker and a cargo ship have been ablaze after they collided off the coast of North Sea in eastern England on Monday. The UK Coastguard activated an emergency rescue operation and dispatched a helicopter and lifeboats from surrounding towns, as well as “vessels with fire-fighting equipment,” to attend to the accident.
According to the reports, both the cargo ship and oil tanker, have been ablaze following the collision. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency reported the alarm was sounded at 9:48 am (0948 GMT). The location of the collision is off the coast of Hull, some 155 miles (250 km) north of London. HM Coastguard is co-ordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo ship off the East Yorkshire coast,” said a Coastguard spokesperson.
The tanker, reportedly the US-flagged chemical and oil products carrier MV Stena Immaculate, and the Portuguese-flagged cargo vessel, Solong, were both at anchor at the time, said ship-tracking website Vessel Finder. Stena Bulk, the Swedish tanker company, confirmed the oil tanker that was involved in the incident, stating it was operated by Crowley, a US maritime firm, AFP added.
The Stena Immaculate had come from the Greek port of Agioi Theodoroi and had anchored off Hull, according to ship tracking website MarineTraffic. The Solong, on the other hand, had been bound for Rotterdam in the Netherlands, coming from Scotland’s Grangemouth port, BBC added.
