Tanker Collides with Ship Leading to Fire and One Goes Missing

The oil tanker is still on fire after it collided with a ship containing toxic chemicals. The incident happned near the North Sea on Monday, and the event became a sensation on social media channels. Amid the collision, one member of the ship is not yet found and there are search parties deployed to identify his whereabouts.

The collision occurred between US-registered Stena Immaculate and Portuguese-flagged Solong. Divisional Commander Mathew Atkinson confirmed that 36 people had been rescued and sent to the hospital for checkup and the missing person belonged to a Portugese-flagged ship. One of the workers at the oil tanker claimed that the Portuguese ship came out of nowhere and hit the tanker at a speed of 16 knots.

The crew, scared for life jumped out of the vessel with what they had and plunged onto the emergency rafts. All types of efforts are being made to assess if there is any environmental damage caused to the water body. The oil leaked from the vessel leading to a fire near the Humber Estuary. The management company Crowley which managed the Stena Immaculate claimed that multiple explosions further ruptured the vessel leading to a huge amount of oil leak.

One official confirmed that the ship was carrying jet fuel for the defense and aerospace of the United States. However, the accident will not impact the resources or the readiness of the country. Rescue helicopters were sent to the spot along with nearby vessels that have firefighting capabilities. This was made to ensure that fire was being controlled. The rescue helicopter successfully located the rafts and saved the lives of 36 crew on board.

Svitzer managing director Michael Peterson had sent 4 lifeboats which have firefighting capabilities and have been trying to bring the fire under control since the start of the event. "The oil and jet fuel present a problem for them. It's obviously flammable, but there's also fumes and toxins," he said. He also claimed that "The priority for us was to save the crew. I've seen some serious incidents, but this is one of the most serious.

The Marine Accident Investigation branch has already started gathering evidence from the site and is assessing the condition. The evidence will be used to determine the next step of the investigation. The divisional commander claimed that "An assessment of any required counter pollution response is being carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

The cargo ship was carrying sodium cyanide which can bring catastrophic causes to the environment and an assessment is being done to check if a severe environmental crisis has occurred. “There is a risk of some hydrogen cyanide gas being produced which could present a risk to any of those involved in rescue."