MV Stena Immaculate

On 10 March 2025, in the North Sea, near the Humber estuary (United Kingdom), the Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong, en route from Rotterdam (Netherlands) to Grangemouth (United Kingdom), collided with the oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate, at anchor 16 km off the English coast after sailing to the United Kingdom from Greece. The reasons for the collision, which occurred in dense fog, currently remain undetermined.

The oil tanker, chartered by the US military, was carrying Jet A-1 fuel and was anchored while it awaited berth availability at the Port of Killingholme, where it was due to make a fuel delivery, when it was struck on its port side.

It was initially announced by Lloyd’s List and the IOPC Funds that the 140.6-metre container ship Solong, owned by German shipping firm Ernst Russ and operated under the Portuguese flag, was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide as well as an unknown quantity of alcohol, however the shipowner indicated in a statement on 11 March 2025 that the there were in fact no containers of sodium cyanide onboard.

This collision off the Yorkshire coast triggered explosions and a violent blaze that continued to rage 24 hours later.

Search and rescue operations were carried out and 36 of the 37 crew members were brought safely ashore in the port of Grimsby (240 km north of London). One crew member remains unaccounted for. Vessels with fire-fighting capabilities were sent to the scene and an exclusion zone with a 1 km radius was set up around the vessels.

On 12 March, the Dutch salvage company Boskalis was engaged by Crowley and reported that the two vessels are no longer interlocked, which should facilitate fire-fighting efforts against the ongoing blaze on the Solong, while the fire on the MV Stena Immaculate is under control.

Pollution response equipment is already at the scene in case it is required.

On Saturday 15 March, the captain of the Solong, charged with gross negligence manslaughter, appeared at Hull Magistrates’ Court and was remanded in custody pending his appearance at the Central Criminal Court in London on 14 April.

On 16 March, plastic pellets were found in the water and on the shores of England’s east coast. HM Coastguard stated that these plastic pellets, 1-5 mm in size, some of which are burnt, are "likely” to have come from containers transported by the Solong and are thought to have entered the sea following the fire sparked by the collision. A retrieval operation was launched.

Also on 16 March, the salvage team confirmed that the damage caused by the collision of the container ship Solong with the MV Stena Immaculate was limited to one cargo tank containing Jet A-1 fuel and one ballast tank containing sea water.

On 19 March, salvage operations were ongoing on board the ships, which were in a stable condition. Fires on board the Solong have been extinguished meaning that salvors can access all parts of the vessel. Daily aerial surveillance flights continue to monitor both vessels and the retrieval operation.

The MV Stena Immaculate is due to soon be towed to Saltend, near Hull, where its remaining fuel will be offloaded before the vessel is taken to another location, likely to be Newcastle, for repairs.