Tanker on hire to US military hit by vessel off UK

A tanker carrying jet fuel for the US military has been struck by a container ship off northeast England, igniting a blaze and multiple explosions and forcing both crews to abandon ship.

The tanker, which has the potential to carry tens of thousands of tonnes of jet fuel, was at anchor when the smaller container ship struck it at speed, rupturing its cargo tank and releasing fuel into the sea.

Two maritime security sources said there was no indication of any malicious activity or other actors involved in the incident.

Local officials said 32 casualties had been met by ambulances but by mid afternoon only one remained in hospital.

Local MP Graham Stuart said he had been told by the transport secretary that 37 crew members were aboard the two ships, and one was hospitalised.

"The other 36 mariners across both crews are safe and accounted for," he said.

But the crash could risk environmental damage.

Martin Slater, director of operations at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said East Yorkshire's coast was home to protected and significant colonies of seabirds including puffins and gannets, with many offshore on the sea ahead of the nesting season.

The tanker, the Stena Immaculate, operated by US logistics group Crowley, was carrying Jet-A1 fuel when it was struck by the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship Solong while anchored near Hull, Crowley wrote on X.

The Stena tanker is part of a US government program designed to supply the armed forces with fuel when required.

A US military spokesperson told Reuters it had been on a short-term charter to the US navy's Military Sealift Command on Monday.

pic.twitter.com/uKgjbKLFkK? Crowley (@CrowleyMaritime) March 10, 2025

The Stena Immaculate was at anchor near the port of Grimsby on Monday morning after sailing from Greece, according to ship-tracking site VesselFinder.

The cargo vessel Solong was sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The Solong vessel was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide among other cargo, according to a report from maritime data provider Lloyd's List Intelligence.

The container vessel was also transporting an unknown quantity of alcohol, the casualty report - an assessment of incidents at sea - said, citing a message from the local coastguard.

Emergency teams sent a helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft, lifeboats and nearby vessels with firefighting capability to the incident on Monday morning.

"A fire occurred as a result of the allision and fuel was reported released," Crowley said.

An allision refers to a collision where one vessel is stationary.

One insurance specialist said the pollution risk, as a products tanker, was less than if it were a crude carrier.

"A lot depends really on cargo carried, how many tanks were breached and how bad the fire is," the source said.

Mark Sephton, professor of Organic Geochemistry at Imperial College London, added that the relatively small hydrocarbons of jet fuel could be degraded by bacteria more quickly than larger molecules.

"The fact that we are moving into warmer temperatures will also speed up biodegradation rates," he said.

The incident occurred in a busy stretch of waterway, with traffic running from the ports along the United Kingdom's northeast coast to the Netherlands and Germany, shipping industry sources said.

Maritime analytics website MarineTraffic said the 183-metre-long Stena Immaculate was anchored off Immingham, northeast England, when it was struck by the 140-metre-long Solong, which was en route to Rotterdam.

Ship insurer Skuld of Norway would only confirm that the Solong was covered with it for protection & indemnity, a segment of insurance that covers environmental damage and crew injuries or fatalities.

with PA and AP