The captain of the container ship “Solong”, who allegedly caused the collision with the tanker “Stena Immaculate”, has been charged.
The Russian, who comes from near St. Petersburg, has to answer to an English court on charges of involuntary manslaughter. A crew member of the “Solong” died in the accident off the east coast of England near Hull.
He had already been arrested on the day of the accident. On Saturday, the captain appeared before the magistrates’ court in the English city of Hull and was subsequently remanded in custody. A first court hearing is scheduled for mid-April at the Central Criminal Court in London.
According to the British Crown Prosecution Service, the seaman (38), who went missing after the collision and was declared dead following an unsuccessful search, was from the Philippines.
The cause of the collision remains unclear
The collision occurred in fog on Monday morning last week. A video shows how the “Solong” (804 TEU), owned by the Hamburg shipping company Ernst Russ, rammed the anchored “Stena Immaculate” (49,700 tdw) amidships without braking. This was followed by explosions and fires on both ships. All of the other 36 seamen were rescued and brought ashore.
It is still unclear how the accident occurred. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the container ship had sailed into the “Stena Immaculate” at a speed of 15 knots and had been heading directly towards the tanker for more than 40 minutes before the collision without adjusting its course or speed. The captain had been in sole command during this time.
Stena Bulk announced on Friday that the fires on the tanker had been extinguished and that salvage experts could go on board to investigate the full extent of the damage.
The “Stena Immaculate” was chartered to the US shipping company Crowley and was carrying aviation fuel for the US military. There had been no major environmental pollution because the cargo, although highly flammable, is also volatile and most of it burned up in the fire.
