Cliff Notes
- The captain of the MV Solong, a 59-year-old Russian national, has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter following the ship’s collision with the Stena Immaculate, resulting in increased police questioning time.
- The investigation is complex, involving numerous witnesses and the need to gather evidence, prompting magistrates to grant police additional detention time for the suspect.
- One crew member from the Solong remains unaccounted for amid ongoing firefighting efforts and monitoring by specialist vessels as the situation is described as “reasonably contained” by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
North Sea: Police given more time to question captain of cargo ship that collided with tanker
Police have been given a second extension as they continue to question the skipper of a cargo ship that collided with an oil tanker in the North Sea on Monday. The 59-year-old Russian national was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter late on Monday and has remained in custody since.
The force said in a statement: “Extensive lines of enquiry are continuing, and further updates will be provided when we can.
“Specialist officers are continuing to support family of the missing crew member of the Solong, who is believed to be deceased.”
Chief coastguard Paddy O’Callaghan said on Thursday that the Stena Immaculate “remains at anchor” while the Solong “continues to be held in a safe location by tug”.
Extra time is imperative to the investigation
He was the captain of the MV Solong which struck the Stena Immaculate, a US-flagged tanker, off the east coast of Yorkshire. Magistrates granted an additional 36 hours on Wednesday and a further 24 hours on Thursday. Extra time is imperative to the investigation because of the “complexities of the incident” and the “number of witnesses involved”, Humberside Police said.
There is also a need to “establish scenes to collate and gather information and evidence”, officers added. Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in London told Russian-state news agency TASS that there were five Russian citizens on board the Solong, all of whom are alive. The Russian Embassy also confirmed to TASS that the detained captain of the Solong is a Russian citizen.
Small pockets of fire were still reported on the top deck of the Solong, with specialist vessels supporting firefighters. A counter pollution and salvage team is in reserve “should it be required”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the situation on Thursday as “reasonably contained”, adding: “We’re obviously monitoring it all of the time. In terms of the cause of it, that’s yet to be determined.”
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said: “Thirty-six crew from both vessels were recovered but tragically one member of crew from Solong remains unaccounted for.”Earlier this week, HM Coastguard said the search for the missing person had been called off following an extensive search of the area.