MERMAID MARINE VESSEL OPERATIONS PTY LTD

Fears of an environmental disaster eased on Wednesday, two days after a container ship ploughed into a stationary U.S. fuel tanker off northeast England, as the vessel's owner said the detained captain was a Russian national.The Portuguese-flagged Solong had crashed with no obvious explanation into the larger Stena Immaculate, a tanker carrying jet fuel for the U.S. military.Huge fires and explosions charred the Solong and left the Immaculate with a gaping hole, but owner Stena Bulk said most of its jet fuel cargo remained intact.Stena Bulk Chief Executive Erik Hanell said only two of 18 fuel tanks had leaked, or about 10% of the cargo.

Newly released video footage captured by advanced AI-powered cameras has provided crucial insights into the collision between the container ship MV Solong and the U.S.-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate off the port of Grimsby earlier this week.The footage, recorded by Orca AI’s SeaPod lookout unit mounted on the anchored tanker Ionic Aspis, reportedly shows the exact moment of impact. The recordings include two separate videos: one from the system’s day cameras, highlighting the dense fog that likely obstructed the Solong crew’s visibility, and another from thermal cameras, which vividly captures the container ship's approach and the explosion upon impact.

The majority of the jet fuel aboard the U.S.-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate remains secure despite a collision with a container ship off the British coast, the tanker's owner, Stena Bulk, reported on Wednesday. Only two of the vessel’s 18 fuel tanks have leaked.The incident occurred on Monday when the Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong struck the Stena Immaculate, which was carrying jet fuel for the U.S. military. British authorities have since arrested the captain of the Solong on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.The fire that had engulfed the Stena Immaculate has now been extinguished, according to Stena Bulk's Chief Executive Erik Hanell.

A fire onboard the Stena Immaculate oil tanker has greatly diminished with no visible flames, as initial salvage activities begin in the North Sea, the manager of the vessel Crowley reported.Crowley said it is working closely with U.K. agencies to support the incident response, salvage and environmental impact mitigation operations resulting from container ship Solong striking the tanker Stena Immaculate while at anchor on Monday, March 10.Worth noting, Solong’s owner has characterized the event as a collision rather than an impact with a stationary vessel.A fire onboard the Stena Bulk-owned oil tanker Stena Immaculate has greatly diminished with no visible flames, Crowley said.

Inevitably, when a maritime accident like the one involving U.S.-flagged chemical tanker Stena Immaculate and the Portuguese-flagged container vessel Solong happens, the first question invariably is an incredulous: "How could this happen"?Now, a relatively rare collision off the coast of Britain has sparked concerns over what went wrong despite standard safety protocols, according to three shipping and insurance industry sources.The incident, which occurred on the morning of Monday, March 10, 2025, resulted in significant damage to the tanker, leaving a gaping hole in its side, and both ships were still burning as of Tuesday. Authorities do not expect either vessel to sink.