Collision between Solong and Stena Immaculate

At 9:48 AM GMT on the 11th of March an alarm was raised by His Majesty's Coastguard for a collision between the Portuguese flagged container vessel the Solong and the US-flagged Stena Immaculate anchored near East Yorkshire. The collision resulted in a blaze lasting more than a day. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has begun its investigation into the incident and it is unclear what could have caused the Solong to collide with the anchored ship in what appears to be fair conditions. The most recent aerial footage of the Stena Immaculate shows the port side of the ship significantly indented and scorched whilst also appearing to list significantly.

“Solong has collided with tanker Stena Immaculate in the outer anchorage, both vessels are abandoning, vessels who have firefighting equipment or who can assist with Search and Rescue contact Humber coastguard”

Coastguard Divisional Commander Matthew Atkinson said 36 of the crew members had been taken ashore. Atkinson also made it clear that there has been an extensive coordinated search and rescue effort since the collision, yet after the conclusion of the effort one crew member still remains unaccounted for. Furthermore a separate member of the crew of the Solong has been taken to hospital, a statement later corrected by Alastair Smith of Ahead of operations for Lincolnshire at East Midlands Ambulance Service. According to the BBC multiple crew members of the Stena Immaculate had already been ashore in Grimsby and as a result managed to avoid the incident.

The tanker, managed by Crowley Global Ship Management based in Florida has stated that currently, “it is unclear what volume of fuel may have been released.” and that, “At the time of the incident, the Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel in 16 segregated cargo tanks.” Cal Hayden, vice president of Crowley, also made it clear they were working closely with the agencies responding to the incident.

The Solong, which had been chartered to Samskip in September of 2024 for a one year period, was on route to Rotterdam where the company is based before the incident occurred. The Solong was carrying over a dozen containers of Sodium Cyanide at the time of the incident yet the precise quantity is unknown. Significant concern has been raised about this chemical in particular as on contact with water Hydrogen Cyanide (commonly known as Cyanide gas) is produced. Which is both highly toxic and highly flammable. Alastair Hay, professor of environmental toxicology at Leeds University commented that, “Cyanide gas being produced which could present a risk to any of those involved in rescue.”

Understanding this Maritime service provider Boskalis has been awarded the contract to salvage and contain the Stena Immaculate. A spokesperson for Boskalis stated that they have fully mobilised to the incident. The spokesperson has also stated that during the night following the incident the two ships came apart and that Boskalis has no role in the salvage or containment of the Solong. His Majesty's Coastguard has established a safety zone of approximately 8 kilometers around the two ships and has already called on ships to stay away after the collision with the understanding of the additional risks involved.

A government source has told The Telegraph that intent could not be ruled out.. Matthew Schanck, founder of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, has stated however, “It's too early to say the exact cause of Monday's collision.”