North Sea collision – newest: Man arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as sailor feared useless | EUROtoday

Maritime minister Mike Kane has stated a Liberal Democrat MP was “right to raise” the problem of whether or not overseas interference was at play within the incident.

Mr Kane was requested by Calum Miller to “assure us the government and its agencies will make an assessment so we can be clear there has been no foreign interference in this terrible accident”.

The minister replied: “At the moment, we feel there is no malign intention to this incident. However, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch will investigate.

“They will give me their initial findings as soon as humanly possible.

“We will take the matter from there, but he is right to raise it. “

A 59-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with yesterday’s collision in the North Sea, Humberside Police have said.

Humberside Police have begun a criminal investigation into the cause of the collision and are working in collaboration with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson said: “Humberside Police have taken primacy for the investigation of any potential criminal offences which arise from the collision between the two vessels.

“Extensive work has already been carried out, and we are working closely with our partners to understand what happened, and to provide support to all of those affected.

“Following enquiries undertaken by my team, we have arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision, this follows the conclusion of search operations by HM Coastguard for the missing crew member of the SOLONG.

“Our thoughts are with the family of the missing crew member, and I have appointed Family Liaison Officers to make contact and provide support to the family.

“The man arrested remains in custody at this time whilst enquiries are underway, and we continue speaking with all those involved to establish the full circumstances of the incident.”

One of the crew members from the tanker Stena Immaculate stated he was grateful to be alive after the dramatic occasions within the North Sea.

The 23-member crew remained in Grimsby as investigators and salvage groups started trying to find solutions concerning the collision.

An American crew member, who wished to stay nameless, stated he simply needed to go dwelling after being compelled to desert ship amid a number of explosions within the vessel’s cargo of jet gas.

When requested how he was feeling, one crew member instructed Sky News: “A lot better than yesterday.”

Another added: “I’m just fine. I’ve been doing this for forty years. I’m just keen to get back on another ship.”

“It has been a hell of a time,” one other instructed Sky News. “But the crew’s all fine, thanks. Godspeed.”

Our Climate Correspondent Stuti Mishra experiences:

The chief of Hull City Council, Mike Ross, has referred to as for the federal government to convene an emergency Cobra assembly in response to the North Sea collision and gas spill, which occurred miles off Hull’s shoreline.

He stated the assembly is required to keep away from potential “environmental catastrophe” including: “It is only right and proper that all available resources are used to try to contain and limit the damage.”

“We urgently need to see the scale of the area affected assessed and the level of pollution resulting from the crash. That’s why I’m calling on Keir Starmer to convene COBRA today.

“People across Hull and East Yorkshire, and especially Holderness, deserve assurances that their local communities, coastline and wildlife will be safe. We will only get this assurance if the government acts quickly”, he said in a statement.

Martijn Schuttevaer, spokesperson for Boskalis, which is the appointed salvage operator for Stena Immaculate, said it is able to approach the vessel to “measure the temperature”.

He instructed PA: “We are now allowed to approach the vessel to verify, to ascertain, to measure the temperature of the ship, to make sure there are no more hot spots within the vessel.

“Because if there are, and that is something which is quite common, then you run the risk of a flaring up of the fire when oxygen gets there.

“From the outside it’s looking relatively calm.

“At the same time, the vessel is quite charred on the outside.

“We first need to understand the temperatures inside and also confirm whether there are no toxic fumes around the vessel, a safety hazard, before we can then look at what the next step would be to either transfer the cargo or take the vessel into a port.”

Counter pollution measures will begin once the fire on the Solong has been put out, transport minister Mike Kane told the Commons.

This got here in response to Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Paul Kohler, who stated: “Can I ask the minister, what immediate steps the Government is taking to protect the environment along the east coast?

“Two, what the minister is doing to keep shipping routes open and safe? And three, what plan does the Government have to support fishing and other businesses that rely on waters that might now be contaminated?”

Mr Kane replied: “The MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) is standing by with marine and aerial counter pollution measures, those are in place. Once we get the fire on the Solong out, we will begin to deploy them, assess the situation and begin to deploy those measures.

“And I’ve said, it’s vital that we keep shipping lanes open as best we can in the Humber Estuary as this continues.”

Tom Brook, Ocean Conservation Specialist at WWF-UK, stated: “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this incident. While it’s too soon to fully understand the impacts, we know that oil spills can have devastating and long-lasting effects on marine ecosystems and wildlife.

“However, many marine species, including fish and dolphins likely moved away from the scene quite quickly, and the full environmental impact may not be clear until we understand the scale of the event.

“Unlike other oil spills, we may not see birds, other species, or habitats drenched in oil. From the information available, the incident involves jet fuel, which is likely to evaporate off more rapidly than heavier oils. The ability to respond quickly may also help mitigate the broader environmental impact, in an otherwise tragic situation.”