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The US-class oil tanker was attacked by a North Sea vessel on Monday morning, causing fires on both the vessels and rescue operations by British emergency services.
The UK’s Maritime and Coast Guard said it was sending rescue helicopters, lifeboats and firefighters to the scene to assess “necessary counter pollution response.”
He was warned about an incident off the coast of Humberside at 9:48am on Monday.
Grimsby East Port CEO Martin Bowers said 32 people had landed after the incident.
“I know they’re all alive,” he told Sky News, adding that more people on the ship are expected.
Tracking information from marine traffic, the vessel traffic information site on the site, suggested that the container ship that Solon had ploughed into oil tankers, stena’s pure white containers, was the anchor.
Information from the site shows vessels currently sitting at right angles to each other in the North Sea.
Stena Immaculate is a US flapping ship managed by Crowley, a Florida-based maritime logistics company. The registered owner is Stena Bulk Marine Services, a company registered in Denmark.
Crawley “maintained a ruptured cargo tank containing Jet A1 fuel” after being “attacked by Containership Solon,” Crawley said, “fuel was released.”
“Stena’s Immaculate Crew abandoned the container after multiple explosions on board. All Crowley Mariners are safe and fully explained,” the company added.
In 2023, Crowley announced that the Stena Immaculate and the other two vessels it managed have been selected to participate in a US government program to ensure the fuel supply of the US military.
Crowley said when the vessel is operating with US crews, “tankers will continue their international commercial operations, but can be chartered in the short term to serve US government operations.”
As of Monday’s incident, it was not immediately clear whether the ship had carried fuel on behalf of the US forces.
The owner of Solong is listed in Germany-based shipping company Ernst Russ. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to marine traffic, Stena Immaculate had transported 18,000 tonnes of Jet A-1 from a Greek refinery with aviation fuel.
Marine traffic showed that Solon had departed from Humber Estuary Port in Immingham and was sailing to Rotterdam.
The RNLI said one of the four lifeboats sent to the scene had stopped by 11:40am, while three others “continued to support the search and rescue efforts.”
