North Sea ship collision: Man arrested over gross negligence

UK police launched a criminal investigation into a collision between two ships in the North Sea and on Tuesday arrested the captain of the container ship that collided with the oil tanker.

The man, who was not named, was detained "on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter," police said.

German shipping firm Ernst Russ, which owns the cargo ship Solong, confirmed that "the master of the container ship Solong has been detained by Humberside police."

"The master and our entire team are actively assisting with the investigations," it added.

One crew member is missing and presumed dead after the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship hit an oil tanker chartered by the US military to transport jet fuel near the port city of Hull. The 36 other crew members were brought ashore safely.

The collision sparked fears of an environmental disaster, with initial reports indicating that the Solong was carrying containers full of sodium cyanide and the crew of the Stena Immaculate tanker reporting explosions from inside their vessel.

On Tuesday, however, Solong's owners denied there had been sodium cyanide on board.

"There are four empty containers that have previously contained the hazardous chemical and these containers will continue to be monitored," Ernst Russ said.

Fire on tanker 'greatly diminished'

The blazes on the two ships continued to burn on Tuesday, but UK officials said the fire on the fuel-laden Stena Immaculate had "greatly diminished."

The Solong separated from the oil tanker and drifted southwards overnight, according to the UK coastguard.

After initial fears that one or both of the ships could sink, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said later on Tuesday "early indications suggest that both vessels are now expected to stay afloat."

While the cause of the collision remains unclear, initial information did not contain "any suggestions of foul play at this time," a spokesperson for the UK government said.

Edited by: Natalie Muller