# ‘Out of the blue’: search for answers goes on after North Sea tanker collision

Investigations will look into reports of deck of cargo ship Solong being unmanned when the catastrophe took place.

## Authors & Contributors
- **Robyn Vinter** (in Grimsby): Tue 11 Mar 2025 14.30 EDT
- **Hannah Al-Othman, Karen McVeigh, and Jamie Grierson**: Tue 11 Mar 2025 17.49: Search called off for missing person after North Sea tanker collision
- **Josh Halliday and Damien Gayle**: Tue 11 Mar 2025 13.13: Experts warn of North Sea collision’s ‘devastating’ impact on marine life

In the North Sea, about 12 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire, the smouldering wreck of a 183-metre tanker is being kept in place by tugboats.

The central part of the vessel has been caved in, with water gushing from a hole in its side. Sections are covered in black soot, evidence of the raging blaze that engulfed the ship when it was struck by a smaller cargo ship on Monday morning, with the flames from multiple explosions only just dying down on Tuesday afternoon.

Drone footage shows cargo ship and oil tanker after North Sea collision – video

Firefighting vessels raced to the scene to help control the blaze and lifeboats were scrambled to support the response and assist in evacuating the crew of both ships. A total of 36 people were taken to shore safely, with one treated in hospital. One man is missing, presumed dead, having entered the water and not been accounted for among those rescued.

Initial reports speculated the highly toxic chemical sodium cyanide may have been aboard the Solong but these were later proved incorrect – it had four empty containers that had previously held the substance, its German owner, Ernst Russ, said.

Fire crews battled to get the inferno under control throughout Monday and into Tuesday. By Tuesday afternoon, most of the fire was out and a multimillion-pound salvage operation was beginning, with experts and investigators arriving in Grimsby, attempting to understand how the crash occurred.

While it remains unclear which country will lead the investigation into the collision – it is usually agreed between the “flags” of the vessels – Humberside police on Tuesday said a 59-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

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