The owners of a container ship which crashed into another vessel in the North Sea on Monday have denied reports it had hazardous sodium cyanide on board.
US tanker Stena Immaculate was anchored off the coast of East Yorkshire when the Solong crashed into it at around 9.45am.
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Some 36 people were brought safely to the shore but one person was missing from the Solong.
A search was called off overnight and UK maritime minister Mike Kane has said the working assumption is that the sailor is dead.
Ernst Russ, the owners of the Solong, shared its “deepest sympathy to the family of the missing crew member”.
“Our first thoughts must be with them at this uncertain and distressing time,” the statement continued.
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Denying reports the vessel had sodium cyanide on board, it said: “There are four empty containers that have previously contained the hazardous chemical.
“These containers will continue to be monitored.”
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The Solong started to drifted southwards away from the crash site at around 11.20pm last night and is still alight, HM Coastguard said this afternoon.
“The fire on board the Stena Immaculate has greatly diminished,” it added. An exclusion zone of 1km is in place around both vessels.
The Solong is unlikely to remain afloat, maritime minister Mr Kane told parliament today, adding that the two ships had initially become attached during the collision before they broke apart.
He added that tugboats are in the vicinity to ensure the Solong remains away from the coast.
HM Coastguard said the UK Health Security Agency (HSA) is assisting in the response and has said any public health risk on shore is “currently deemed to be very low”.
Images taken this morning show the burnt-out wreckage of the Stena Immaculate as blazes continued to rage inside the vessel.
A huge hole is in its side, and sea water can be seen going into the vessel.
Officials are yet to ascertain the exact cargo on board the Solong. Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of Jet-A1 fuel in 16 tanks, at least one of which was ruptured, its operator has said.
Environmental experts and campaigners have shared fears for how leakages could impact wildlife and the local coastline.
Alex Lukyanov, who models oil spills at the University of Reading, said: “This particular incident is troubling because it appears to involve persistent oil, which breaks up slowly in water. The environmental toll could be severe.”
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Salvage operation underway
Salvage experts have arrived in Grimsby before heading out to the fire-damaged vessels.
The major multinational operation is being assembled with crew including firefighters, marine chemists and hazardous materials experts, who have been sourcing breathing apparatus equipment for the operation.
One crew member told Sky News: “The impact of this will be massive. The jet fuel on the tanker, the stuff they use to put out the fires, the fuel for the ships themselves, all of that will do a lot of damage.”
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It’s not just members of the salvage team who are now temporarily based in the Lincolnshire town.
Hotels in Grimsby have also been filling up with crews from other vessels unable to dock or depart because of traffic in and out of the port being stopped – and they have little idea when this will return to normal.
