Search called off for tanker crew member lost in the North Sea as environmental fears grow
Concerns grew over the environmental impact from the fiery collision between a fuel tanker and a cargo vessel off the British coast in the North Sea a day earlier.
LONDON — Concerns grew Tuesday over the environmental impact from the fiery collision between a fuel tanker and a cargo vessel off the British coast in the North Sea a day earlier that appeared to have left one person lost at sea.
The Portugal-registered Solong container ship struck the tanker, MV Stena Immaculate, according to a statement released Monday by Crowley, the company that manages the tanker. The Stena Immaculate is a U.S. vessel that had been anchored off the North Sea coast near the port city of Hull when it was struck, Crowley added.
A major rescue operation by lifeboats, coast guard aircraft, and commercial vessels was carried out in foggy conditions under the leaden skies of the North Sea following the incident.
Fire and rescue services respond after a collision between oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate and the cargo vessel MV Solong on Monday.Getty ImagesThe dramatic fires from the two vessels sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky throughout Monday. On Tuesday, the Coast Guard that the flames had been mostly extinguished on the tanker but not entirely on the cargo vessel.
While 36 of the 37 crew members of the two vessels were brought ashore to the port town of Grimsby, about 150 miles north of London, Ernst Russ — the German company that owns the Solong — said in a statement Tuesday that the search for the final missing crew member had been called off.
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