The ‘heroic’ crew of the Stena Immaculate stopped a wider disaster after it was hit in the North Sea on Monday morning, a shipping boss has said.
Before abandoning ship, workers on board triggered a fire safety system which meant the damage did not spread to other cargo tanks.
That meant 17,515 barrels of highly flammable jet fuel was lost when the vessel burst into a fireball – and not more of the 220,000 barrels it was carrying.
The US-flagged MV Stena Immaculate was anchored off the Humber Estuary, 10 miles from Hull, when the Portuguese-flagged Solong rammed into it.
One sailor from the Solong, 38-year-old Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia, remains lost at sea and is presumed dead.
On Friday, the container ship’s Russian captain Vladimir Motin was charged with gross negligence manslaughter.
Crowley, the company that operates the Stena Immaculate, confirmed this evening that only one cargo tank with Jet-A1 fuel and a ballast tank containing seawater were damaged in the collision.
Cal Hayden, Crowley’s vice president, said: ‘Before being forced to abandon ship, the crew had the dedication and presence of mind to ensure fire monitors were active in order to provide boundary cooling water to the adjacent cargo tanks.
‘Their heroic action limited damage to only the cargo tanks impacted due to the allision.’
He added: ‘We remain fully committed to supporting the UK response to the striking of the Stena Immaculate and any environmental remediation.’
The Crowley statement said: ‘The Coastguard position remains that there continues to be no cause for concern for pollution from the tanker.’
In the most recent update, Chief Coastguard Paddy O’Callaghan said the Stena Immaculate remains at anchor and the Solong is being ‘held in a safe location connected to a tug’.
The UK Health Security Agency ‘continues to advise that any public health risk on shore is deemed to be very low’, he added.
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