Foul play “not been ruled out” by the White House after jet fuel-carrying tanker ship, indirectly contracted to the U.S. Department of Defence as part of its “times of need” emergency reserve, burns off the east coast of the United Kingdom after it was struck by a container ship.
American-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate was struck on the port side amidships in a near-perfect broadside allision by Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong around 1000 Monday morning (0600 New York time), causing a large fireball explosion. The allision took place in the Humber estuary off England’s east coast on the North Sea, just miles from major port towns like Immingham and Grimsby.
After the initial explosion both ships appear to have burnt stem-to-stern and have suffered serious damage. Given the tanker is carrying what has been described as jet fuel (‘Jet A-1 aviation fuel’, a kerosene product), whether its cargo is burnt of lost to the sea, a potential ecological disaster in England’s littoral awaits. HM Coastguard said in a statement on Monday afternoon that “The incident remains ongoing and an assessment of the likely counter pollution response required is being enacted.”
The area is important for global maritime trade, and many smaller craft, including port pilots, were in the area to offer assistance. Thirty-two injured people have been brought ashore on three small boats, a large number for two regional trade-size ships under modern manning practices.
Newspaper Metro cites the remarks of Port of Grimsby East boss Martyn Boyers, who said that after a “massive fireball” caused by the smash, the 32 casualties were brought ashore to a line of waiting ambulances “all alive.” Early reports suggest that a further crewman from the Solong was missing at the time of the incident.
In common with all large commercial ships operating within maritime law, both ships were broadcasting a digitised digest of their onboard data through their AIS systems in the lead-up to and at the time of the allision. This information is publicly available, and aggregator Marine Traffic has published digital visuals of the time leading up to the incident, showing Stena Immaculate stationary at anchor in the Hull Estuary and the Solong approaching and then striking its port side amidships without appearing to alter course or speed.
Due to the prevalence of ‘flags of convenience‘, where ship owners often register craft in the most legally lenient countries possible to minimise inspection and compliance costs — sometimes even in landlocked countries — the fact the struck ship is American-flagged immediately marks it down as of interest. Indeed, the jet fuel-carrying Stena Immaculate is operated by Crowley Government Solutions and can be called upon to service the United States Air Force and United States Navy.
The American Maritime Officers’ Union stated in 2023 that the Stena Immaculate had been reflagged to the American flag as part of the Department of Defence’s Tanker Security Program (TSP), a group of ten merchant tankers that “can readily transport liquid fuel supplies in times of need for the DOD”. Many countries operated such a civilian wartime reserve, including the United Kingdom, which has agreements with civilian shipowners for wartime use, as seen during the Second World War or the Falklands War.
In the case of the Stena Immaculate and the TSP, it is not presently clear if they were on government work, but due to their part in the programme, they can be called upon at short notice to supply the U.S. military with fuel. They are kept on alert in return for a stipend and, as part of the agreement, have a fully American crew. In other seas, Crowley Government Solutions operates an ice-class tanker to carry fuel to American forces in the Arctic, for instance, a deeply strategically sensitive mission.
Given the national security angle to the allision off the coast of England on Monday, the White House is reported to have expressed interest. Respected maritime writer Captain John Konrad reports through his gCaptain blog that a White House source has related “that foul play has not been ruled out.”
This story is developing, more follows
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