North Sea Collision: How the Rescue Operation Has Unfolded So Far
On Mar. 10, 2025, container ship MV Solong collided with gasoline tanker MV Stena Immaculate off the UK coast, triggering an intensive search and rescue response.
MV Solong, a container feeder ship registered in Portugal and owned by transport agency Ernst Russ, departed Grangemouth, Scotland, on a standard path to the key Dutch port of Rotterdam. Because the ship travelled south alongside the shoreline it approached MV Stena Immaculate, a tanker that was reportedly chartered by the U.S. Division of Protection (DoD), at anchor.
The container vessel struck the tanker on its port facet at 0948 UTC, inflicting important harm to each vessels. A fireplace subsequently ignited, and a few crew members elected to desert ship. Prior climate studies recommended the realm was stricken by fog on the time of the collision, which can have affected the situational consciousness of the crew aboard every vessel. Each vessels had been transmitting full Automated Identification System (AIS) info, which permits them to trace one another precisely in addition to be tracked by on-line web sites reminiscent of MarineTraffic.
From Marine Visitors, right here’s the second of the crash between the oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate and a cargo vessel MV Solong. Dwell updates right here www.theguardian.com/uk-news/reside…
— Eliot Higgins (@eliothiggins.bsky.social) March 10, 2025 at 1:08 PM
HM Coastguard had been alerted to the incident nearly instantly and referred to as on close by vessels, which included a lot of offshore assist vessels that frequent the North Sea oil fields, to render help. These ships are remarkably seaworthy platforms outfitted with excessive tech station-keeping methods, medical amenities, launchable boats, and firefighting capabilities, permitting them to function ‘survivor’ vessels in case of a significant incident on board an oil rig.
A Sikorsky S-92 search and rescue (SAR) helicopter utilizing the callsign ‘Coastguard Rescue 912 Alpha’, operated by Bristow Group on behalf of the Coastguard, was launched from Humberside Airport and arrived on scene by 1030 UTC. That is the most important helicopter kind operated underneath the SAR helicopter contract, and enhances its sizeable survivor capability with a Star Safire 380HD ahead trying infrared (FLIR) turret, evening imaginative and prescient goggles, 1200 watt loudhailer, medical tools, and a full auto-hover system.
A set wing Beechcraft B200 King Air, additionally operated for HM Coastguard, was additionally dispatched shortly afterwards. High cowl and surveillance was supplied by this plane all through the day. Mounted wing plane operations by HM Coastguard had been expanded within the new SAR2G contract, which may even see the service outfitted with Scheibel S-100 Camcopter unmanned aerial automobiles.
4 stations of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a charity that gives waterborne rescues throughout the UK and Republic of Eire, had been activated at 1020 UTC and their boats dispatched. Two of those, Bridlington and Skegness, are outfitted with state-of-the-art lengthy vary Shannon class all climate lifeboats which might carry as much as 79 survivors, or 23 whereas sustaining the flexibility to self-right after capsizing.
Native Member of Parliament Graham Stuart confirmed within the afternoon that 36 members of crew throughout each vessels had been situated and accounted for, with just one hospitalised for accidents sustained. On the time of writing, one member of crew from MV Solong is still missing, with SAR efforts persevering with in an effort to find them.
Crowley Maritime, who handle the MV Stena Immaculate, confirmed that the ship suffered multiple explosions following the incident, which they known as an ‘allision’. In strict nautical phrases, an allision is the place a ship collides with a stationary ship or object, whereas a collision entails two transferring vessels.
The corporate additionally confirmed that the ship was carrying Jet A-1 aviation gasoline, and that the tank carrying this gasoline had ruptured. Coastguard radio alerts through the maritime misery frequency acknowledged that the gasoline had spilled from the vessel and was on fireplace. A name for help from vessels with a firefighting functionality was made.
At 1525 UTC, an Air Navigation Order was made limiting the airspace above and in a 3 nautical mile radius across the incident location as much as 2000 ft. Inside this space, solely air visitors working with the permission of the UK Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) are permitted. These restrictions are generally made for main incidents to safeguard the plane working as a part of the incident response. The necessity for such restrictions turned obvious to the world when a firefighting plane working over California hit an unauthorised drone, resulting in a short lived grounding.
The Discover to Aviation (NOTAM) implementing this order is at present legitimate till Mar. 17, though this might be withdrawn earlier if now not required.
A maritime exclusion zone was moreover declared, with a radius of 1000 metres centred on the place of MV Stena Immaculate, forbidding entry for any vessels not a part of the rescue or incident response operation. Plenty of tug boats and offshore assist vessels nonetheless, on the time of writing, encompass the 2 ships, though a big quantity have now retreated to the Humber estuary.
Cleanup operations for each the spilled jet gasoline in addition to the marine gasoline from the ships themselves are positive to begin as quickly as attainable. Alongside vessels working on the ocean floor, plane could also be deployed to spray dispersants into the water which assist to interrupt up the polluting chemical substances.
A collection of aircraft are contracted by the UK authorities to supply this service, with a Cessna F406 providing a small scale spill response or check spray functionality, and two Boeing 737-400s that may be outfitted with an Oil Dispersant Spray Equipment and 15,900 litres of dispersant agent. Two Boeing 727s are additionally primarily based at London Southend Airport accessible for oil spill response operations worldwide, which might be referred to as in as further assist.
The required counter-pollution response is currently being assessed by HM Coastguard as environmental groups draw explicit consideration to this matter. Massive oil spill incidents, whereas unusual within the UK, are properly remembered for inflicting large devastation to coastal communities and the encompassing wildlife.
The 1967 Torrey Canyon disaster off the coast of Cornwall noticed over 100,000 tonnes of crude oil pollute the seas and kill an estimated 30,000 birds. Remnants of this spill can nonetheless be seen alongside the UK’s south coast to at the present time. Dispersal efforts on the time had been relegated largely to aerial bombing by the Royal Air Power and Fleet Air Arm in an try and burn the oil earlier than it reached the shore.
Not solely is the gasoline inflicting a priority, however it’s reported that amongst MV Solong’s cargo was a cargo of sodium cyanide, a extremely poisonous substance. It isn’t but identified how a lot, if any, of this compound has entered the water.
MV Stena Immaculate and the U.S. Navy
Extensively reported in protection of this incident is the standing of MV Stena Immaculate as underneath contract to the U.S. Division of Protection, which is a transparent clarification of its Jet A-1 gasoline cargo. Whereas the U.S. operates a sizeable tanker drive as a part of its auxiliary fleet, further civilian assist is usually required to adequately provide all the navy’s world operations. Underneath the Tanker Security Program, a minimal of ten civilian tanker vessels have to be made accessible to the U.S. navy when required.
Whereas the ships enrolled in this system are required to satisfy the situation of being appropriate to be used throughout occasions of nationwide emergency or armed battle, these should not conditions for the chartering of those vessels for navy use. Three tankers operated by Stena-Crowley had been enrolled in the program in 2023.
The usage of civilian tankers underneath contract to navy forces is just not a brand new idea, and in reality has been an everyday apply for the UK Ministry of Defence who use gasoline tankers underneath long run constitution to move gasoline between the UK and abroad bases such as RAF Akrotiri.
A U.S. Authorities official commenting on the incident has reportedly stated ‘foul play’ has not yet been ruled out, though no indications that will recommend such a trigger are but obvious. As in aviation, and confirmed by the recent collision involving the USS Harry S. Truman, even probably the most technologically properly outfitted and guarded vessels on the planet can undergo from accidents at sea.
