Tanker owners praise 'exceptionally brave crew'

The co-owners of a tanker involved in a collision with a cargo ship in the North Sea have released the first picture of some of the crew and praised their "exceptional bravery".

The Stena Immaculate and cargo ship Solong collided in the North Sea, off East Yorkshire, on 10 March, triggering an explosion and fires, which have been extinguished.

One crew member of the Solong, a Filipino national, is missing and presumed dead. The Russian captain of the cargo vessel has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

The Solong's owners admitted tiny plastic pellets, held in containers on board, had been released, with reports they had been found on beaches in Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

Crowley, the Florida-based maritime operations company which was managing the tanker, posted a photo on social media showing 19 crew members.

In a statement, it said: "Our deepest gratitude and respect goes out to our 23 mariners from the Stena Immaculate for their exceptional bravery and quick action during the recent allision to their ship in the North Sea.

"Their decisive efforts and teamwork to execute critical fire and emergency duties helped to save lives, protect the integrity of the vessel and minimize the impact on the environment.

"Against disastrous circumstances, the crew had the operational focus to ensure fire monitors were active in order to provide boundary cooling water, which resulted in limited impact to just one of the 16 cargo holds."

Crowley thanked all 23 for their courage and "dedication to safety".

"[It] sets a powerful example for the entire industry," the company added.

HM Coastguard said 36 people - from both vessels - were rescued and taken safely to shore in Grimsby.

Chief coastguard Paddy O'Callaghan said a "retrieval operation" would continue on Tuesday after small balls of plastic resin, known as nurdles, were sighted off The Wash and along the Norfolk shore between Old Hunstanton and Wells-next-the-Sea.

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust confirmed "burnt clumps" of nurdles had been found at Skegness. A spokeswoman urged the public not to touch the material.

The National Trust said nurdles had also started to appear on Brancaster Beach, in Norfolk, while the RSPB confirmed they had washed up at the charity's reserve at nearby Titchwell.

A trust spokeswoman said: "So far, we have not seen any visible signs at Blakeney Point Nature Reserve and will next be assessing the inter-tidal salt marshes at Stiffkey.

"This is a developing situation and we are currently liaising with authorities to understand the response needed to remove loose nurdles and these charred lumps of plastic resin."

According to the coastguard, nurdles, which are used in plastics production, are not toxic but can present a risk to wildlife if ingested.

In a statement, shipping company Ernst Russ, which owns the Solong, said: "We can confirm that a number of containers on board Solong contain plastic nurdles.

"We understand that no containers holding nurdles have been lost over the side.

"What we understand may have occurred, is that intense heat during initial firefighting efforts caused one or more of the openings of some of the smaller containers to open, resulting in the release of some contents."

The firm said it had "proactively deployed assets to mitigate any long-term impact on the marine environment" and was liaising with the coastguard.

Mr O'Callaghan said both the Solong and Stena Immaculate were "stable", with salvage operations continuing.

"Fires on board the Solong have been extinguished and temperature monitoring has been set up," he said.

The Wash is a large inlet of the North Sea stretching from south of Skegness, in Lincolnshire, to near Hunstanton, in Norfolk.

"Regular aerial surveillance flights continue to monitor both vessels and the retrieval operation," added Mr O'Callaghan.

The RNLI thanked volunteer lifeboat crews from Bridlington, Cleethorpes, Humber, Mablethorpe and Skegness for their efforts in the search and rescue operation.

George Pickford, the RNLI's head of region, said: "We recognise their courage and dedication as they spent hours out at sea, facing challenging conditions."

Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, was named by the Crown Prosecution Service as the missing crew member.

The captain of the Solong, Vladimir Motin, 59, of Primorsky in St Petersburg, Russia, appeared at Hull Magistrates' Court on Saturday charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

He was remanded in custody to appear before the Central Criminal Court in London on 14 April.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is trying to establish the cause of the collision.

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