LONDON, March 12. /TASS/. All crew members of tanker Stena Immaculate, hit by container ship Solong off the coast of northeast England on March 10, are US citizens, they feel well, Reuters news agency reported quoting Eric Hanell, Chief Executive of Stena Bulk, which owns the tanker.
He said that " [there's] no fire any longer [on the tanker]," while the aviation fuel that was carried by the ship mostly remained in the cargo tanks and did not spill into the ocean. According to Hanell, "We will have a much clearer picture in the next 24-48 hours on the whole salvage operation." Earlier it was reported that the tanker was used to deliver fuel for the needs of the American military bases in the UK.
On the morning of March 10, the Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong collided with US-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate, which was anchored, in the North Sea. As a result of the fracturing of the cargo tank aviation fuel partially spilled into the sea. Explosions ripped through Stena Immaculate, after which both vessels caught fire.
Stena Immaculate’s 23 crew members and 13 of Solong's 14 crew were evacuated and are safe. On the evening of March 10, the British Coast Guard terminated a 12-hour search operation for the missing.
Reuters news agency quoted German company Ernst Russ, which owns Solong, as saying that the captain of the container ship was a Russian citizen, who was detained. It is noted that its crew members include citizens of Russia and the Philippines.