The captain of the container ship Solong, who was arrested in the UK in connection with an accident in the North Sea, turned out to be a Russian citizen, reported the agency Reuters citing a statement from the company Ernst Russ, which owns the container ship. The ship's crew consisted of citizens of Russia and the Philippines.
British police arrested the 59-year-old captain of the container ship Solong, which collided with a tanker anchored near the east coast of the UK on March 10, reports Seatrade Maritime News citing a police statement. The captain of the Portugal-registered container ship is suspected of manslaughter due to negligence. The case is related to the presumed death of one of the crew members of Solong: the sailor went missing after the accident and was never found.
"After an investigation conducted by my team, we arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of manslaughter due to negligence in connection with the collision, and this happened after the completion of coast guard search operations for the missing crew member of the vessel Solong", said senior investigator, senior superintendent Craig Nicholson.
James Broomhall, a senior lawyer at Grosvenor Law stated that the maximum penalty is life imprisonment, but sentences usually range from several years to 10, depending on the severity of the negligence and any aggravating or mitigating circumstances.
The vessel Solong crashed directly into the side of the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate without any visible attempts to avoid the collision.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an American sailor from the vessel Stena Immaculate told CBS News that "a huge cargo ship appeared suddenly", and Solong did not stop immediately after the collision with the tanker. The tanker crew evacuated in lifeboats about 30 minutes after the collision.
Meanwhile, fears that Solong might sink have diminished, and the HM coast guard reported that a towing line was attached to the drifting container ship, and it is now being held in a safer position by a tug.
The investigation into the causes of the accident is being conducted by the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), while the police will handle criminal offenses related to the incident.
The collision of Solong, sailing under the Portuguese flag, and the American Stena Immaculate occurred off the coast of East Yorkshire on the morning of March 10. As a result, a tank with aviation fuel on board the tanker was damaged, leading to fire and explosions. The crews of both vessels evacuated and were rescued, except for one sailor from Solong, who went missing. Initially, it was reported that Solong had 15 containers of toxic sodium cyanide on board, but the ship's owner, the company Ernst Russ, stated that this was not the case. Stena Immaculate was carrying aviation fuel for the needs of the US military. Some of the fuel spilled into the sea near the mouth of the Humber River.
Photo: Sky News