British police have arrested the captain of the container ship Solong on suspicion of "gross negligence causing death" after the ship collided with the US tanker Stena Immaculate, carrying jet fuel for the US military, Reuters reports, reports News.bg.
The incident occurred on March 10 off the northeast coast of England. A day later, the 59-year-old captain was detained. The German company Ernst Russ, which owns the Portuguese-flagged Solong, confirmed that the captain is a Russian citizen. The rest of the 14-member crew are Russians and Filipinos, with one sailor still missing and presumed dead.
British authorities are continuing their investigation in cooperation with maritime services and other international bodies. A spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there was no evidence of "deliberate malicious action".
The container ship Solong collided with the Stena Immaculate while the tanker was at anchor. The impact caused explosions and a large-scale fire, which led to a fuel spill into the sea and raised concerns about the environmental consequences in protected areas with large colonies of seabirds.
According to experts, it remains unclear why the safety systems of the two modern ships failed to prevent the collision.
Ernst Russ reported that the container ship underwent an inspection in 2024, during which minor irregularities were found, but they were not grounds for detaining the vessel.
While the British Maritime Accident Investigation Branch collects initial evidence, formal responsibility for the investigation is shared between the United States and Portugal – the countries whose flags the affected ships fly.
All 23 crew members of the Stena Immaculate, who are American citizens, were evacuated unharmed.
Russians represent about 11% of the world's maritime workforce and, along with Ukrainians, are among the most frequently appointed captains and senior officers in international shipping.