The military jet fuel that has spilled into the North Sea after a cargo ship smashed into an oil tanker ‘is capable of causing significant toxicity to marine life’, a professor has warned.
US oil tanker Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel in 16 segregated cargo tanks when it was engulfed by a huge fireball after the Portuguese ship, Solong, ploughed into it.
Professor Alastair Grant, from the University of East Anglia’s School of Environmental Sciences, warned the fuel would ‘probably be more toxic’ as it was for military purposes.
‘So we’re potentially talking about 35,000 tons of jet fuel. That is capable of causing some significant toxicity to marine life,’ he told The Telegraph.
Crowley, the maritime company managing Stena Immaculate, said it was ‘uncertain’ how much fuel had poured into the water ‘but initial review shows impacts have been limited due to exposure to the fire and evaporation of the Jet A1 fuel’.
But Prof Grant said it was wrong to assume the fuel would all evaporate as it has a higher boiling point meaning this would happen slowly.
‘It contains up to 25 per cent aromatic hydrocarbons, which are relatively toxic and slow to break down in the environment,’ he added.
He said it would spread out as a ‘thin film’ and could float as far as the Norfolk coast after a change in wind direction.
It comes as the captain of the cargo ship was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Tug boats shadow the Solong container ship as it drifts in the Humber Estuary — March 11, 2025
An aerial view as smoke billows from the MV Solong cargo ship in the North Sea, off the Yorkshire coast — March 11, 2025
An aerial view of the damaged MV Stena Immaculate tanker at anchor off the Yorkshire coast in Grimsby — March 11, 2025
A Gannet in flight ahead of the breeding season at the RSPB’s Bempton Cliffs on the East Yorkshire coast — March 11, 2025
Ernst Ross, the company that owns the Solong, said the 59-year-old man, who has not been named, ‘has been detained by Humberside Police’ and is ‘actively assisting with the investigations.’
A crew member from the Solong is missing and presumed dead as efforts continue to prevent an environmental disaster in the aftermath of the accident.
Some of the crew narrowly escaped death when the collision on Monday morning caused fierce fires on both vessels, it emerged on Tuesday.
Recalling the terrifying maritime crash and aftermath, a survivor of the Stena Immaculate tanker said: ‘It was either get into your life jacket or get incinerated.’
The 36 survivors were recovering in Grimsby hotels and are expected to be interviewed by the UK authorities and US coastguard officials in the coming days.
A handful of the American crew of the Stena Immaculate spoke about what happened but asked not to be identified.
They were so close to the flames as they boarded the lifeboat that some suffered singed hair. All survived without serious injury.
One crewman said: ‘Yesterday was a bad start to the day, but it ended gloriously. Why? All 23 of us got off the ship without anybody being in it.’
The captain of the cargo ship has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after it smashed into an oil tanker (Pictured: Billowing smoke emerging from the MV Solong cargo ship)
MV Stena Immaculate exploded into a ‘massive fireball’ after being hit by MV Solong, leaking some 18,000 tonnes of jet fuel into the North Sea on March 10
US-flagged tanker, MV Stena Immaculate, was hit while at anchor by the Portugal-flagged container ship, MV Solong, off the coast of Humber Estuary, Hull
He added that he was ‘pleased to be alive.’
Asked about his actions immediately after the tanker carrying a cargo of jet fuel burst into flames, he said: ‘I did have time to think. I ran through the procedures. Because if I hadn’t had time to think, we wouldn’t have survived.
‘We drilled, we trained, we prepared for the unprepared. We do emergency prep non-stop. Regardless of outside uncontrollable forces.’
Marine experts have speculated that the Portuguese-registered Solong – which is now known not to be carrying highly toxic Sodium Cyanide – was on autopilot when it veered into the tanker with devastating results.
The survivor commented: ‘You have to be watching the autopilot. And no one is watching the autopilot.
‘It would be like if you were sitting in a car park on Sunday morning, reading a newspaper or playing with your phone, right? And a car enters on the other side of the car park.
‘He’s heading for it, but then he falls asleep or he’s doing something, and the car just goes careening into the other one.
‘Who’s at fault? It’s clear they are the ones at fault. That’s all I can say.’
Smoke can be seen billowing from the sea as oil carried on the carrier caught fire on March 10
Stena Immaculate, a US-flagged ship, was reportedly carrying jet fuel when it collided with another vessel
Another American crewman told CBS news how a ‘massive ship came out of the blue.’
He said crew members grabbed essential belongings and life jackets before everyone boarded the lifeboat. The captain was the last person to leave the ship.
The man described flames lapping at the crew as they boarded the lifeboat, and said some of the sailors even had singed hair because the fire was so close.
Wildlife organisations and charities are closing monitoring the shoreline, birds and marine life for evidence of pollution from the vessels.
Crowley, the maritime company managing Stena Immaculate, said it was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel in 16 segregated cargo tanks. At least one tank was ruptured, the company said.
The tanker was contracted to carry fuel for the US military and had been anchored 13 miles off the coast near the Humber estuary.
The east coast is home to a large seabird population, but hopes were increasing that a major environmental disaster could be avoided as the Solong was not carrying highly toxic sodium cyanide as first feared.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said neither ship was expected to sink and plans were underway to salvage both vessels and their cargo.
A rescue ship is pictured at the scene as it tried to blast the smouldering wreckage of the vessels with water to extinguish the flames
She said: ‘I am reassured to hear indications from the ship’s owners which suggest the sodium cyanide containers were empty, and that efforts to confirm this by the salvors are underway.
‘I was also pleased to have been informed that early indications suggest that both vessels are now expected to stay afloat and that the SOLONG can be towed away from the shore, and salvage operations can get underway.’
Chief Coastguard Pat O’Callaghan said the Counter Pollution and Salvage Team is ‘assessing the situation and is developing a plan ready for implementation’.
Humberside Police is conducting a criminal investigation and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch is separately investigating the cause of the collision.
Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson of Humberside Police said the man arrested on suspicion of manslaughter ‘remains in custody at this time whilst enquiries are underway, and we continue speaking with all those involved to establish the full circumstances of the incident.’
