Three days on from the moment of contact between a US-chartered oil tanker carrying jet fuel for the American military and a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship in the North Sea and the picture surrounding events is only starting to now become a little more clear.

Within the first critical hours of the incident unfolding – in which the oil tanker, called MV Stena Immaculate and the cargo ship, Solong collided off the northeast coast of England, off Hull – fears had been triggered over the vast and damaging impact the resultant oil spillage could have on the environment. 

Messages were initially unclear over exactly what had been spilled – with reports that the cargo ship in question could have been transporting sodium cyanide, while the US tanker was carrying some 220,000 barrels of jet fuel.

Amid a slurry of updates as more is learned around the incident, new reports have come forth in a move to settle some of the larger concerns.

Arrests made over collision

The incident itself has so far seen one man arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after the search for a sailor aboard the cargo ship now missing presumed dead, was called off by the HM Coastguard.

That individual – a 59 year-old Russian national – is said to be cooperating with authorities, alongside the 36 members of the cargo crew – half of whom are said to be Russian, the other half from the Philippines – in their investigations. 

The vessel had hit a US-flagged tanker, Stena Immaculate, carrying jet fuel for the American military, which was anchored while waiting for space at a port in the Humber, having travelled from the Peloponnese region of Greece.

The Solong was sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands at a speed of about 16 knots, equivalent to 18mph, when it collided with the tanker.

It was initially feared that the cargo ship was carrying the highly toxic chemical sodium cyanide but its owner, the Hamburg-based maritime firm Ernst Russ, said four containers that had previously held the substance were empty.

Both vessels caught fire after several explosions. Accounts from sailors aboard the vessels relay that the full evacuation mission – from point of collision to the safeguarding of 36 crew members – took no more than 30 minutes. 

Environmental impact will be felt for time to come

Chief among the concerns now is just what kind of short and long-term damage this incident will cause the marine environment. Wildlife charities across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have been on standby, ready to respond to those rising fears of a serious environmental fallout. 

It’s not yet known how much of the 220,000 barrels of jet fuel aboard the US tanker have spilled into the north sea. Early assessment suggests that some of it would have already been burned in what was described as a “massive fireball” but it remains likely some would have been spilled into the sea, causing possible environmental damage.

Speaking to The Guardian this week, Dr Simon Boxall – an academic in oceanography at the University of Southampton – explained that Jet A-1 fuel, the type carried by the oil tanker, had a ‘much higher toxicity’ than crude oil and that the ‘impact on life in the oceans would be devastating.’

Special pollution control vessels from Germany and Norway arrived at the scene on Tuesday to measure the scale of the spillage and contain any toxins. The success of this endeavour is yet to be detailed. Meanwhile, experts suggest the health and environmental effects of the spillage will be both short and long term, local and regional – harmful not only to local wildlife and beaches and the livelihoods that rely on them, but with the potential to move up the food chain, from fish, to birds, to people.

This is all made worse, of course, by the proximity of the incident to two of the north sea’s most critical marine protected areas.

Big oil, big trouble

According to publicly available data, the collision is likely to have occurred within – or very near to – the Holderness Offshore Marine Conservation Zone and the Southern North Sea Special Area of Conservation, both of them homes to vulnerable marine life.

The Southern North Sea is currently a protected habitat for harbour porpoises, while the Holderness Offshore Marine Conservation Zone is protected due to the presence of ocean quahogs alongside protected habitats and geology.

While there are many variables still left to learn of this incident, the message from the environmental sector has been clear. That wherever Big Oil goes, spills and damage to the environment follow quickly behind.

Hugo Tagholm, executive director of Oceana UK, said: “This tragic event shows once again that spills occur everywhere Big Oil goes, be it drilling the ocean floor or transporting fossil fuels around the world. 

“We are now seeing toxic oil pouring from the 183 metre-long tanker into – or very near – a sensitive area designated to protect declining harbour porpoises. As these animals are forced to come to the surface, they risk inhaling poisonous fumes and choking on oil.

“We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the destruction this industry causes,” said Tagholm. “Ending the era of Big Oil and building a future powered by clean, renewable energy is paramount for UK seas, for our communities, and our future.”

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