LONDON, March 13. /TASS/. The British police have extended the arrest of the captain of the Solong container ship, that collided with the Stena Immaculate tanker and caught fire off the UK coast.
"Following on from the collision between a tanker and cargo vessel in the North Sea, off the coast of Grimsby, on Monday, 10 March, the 59-year-old man arrested remains in police custody," the Humberside police said in a statement.
Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson clarified that the decision to extend the arrest by 36 hours was made by the local Magistrates’ Court. "Detectives are continuing to question him following his arrest on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision," he said.
Earlier, Reuters reported, citing the German Ernst Russ company, which owns Solong, that the captain of the container ship was a Russian citizen. It was also reported that crew members include citizens of Russia and the Philippines.
On March 10, the Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong collided in the North Sea with the US-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate, which was anchored at the time. The impact set off multiple explosions aboard the tanker and ruptured its cargo tank, causing some jet fuel to leak into the sea. Explosions have taken place aboard the tanker, after which both vessels caught fire.
The Stena Immaculate’s 23 crew members and 13 members of the Solong’s 14-strong crew were evacuated and are now safe. One crew member of the Solong is missing. Operations to search for him have been stopped.