Cargo Vessel Collides With Oil Tanker Off UK Coast

A cargo ship has collided with an oil tanker off the northeastern coast of England, causing a huge fire and prompting an emergency response from the British coastguard.

The coastguard said it has sent a helicopter and lifeboats from nearby towns, as well as “vessels with fire-fighting capability,” to respond to the incident in the North Sea.

Videos of the incident show black plumes of smoke surrounding at least one vessel engulfed by flames.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) said it had sent four lifeboat crews to respond to the incident and that it was aware of “reports that a number of people had abandoned the vessels following a collision and there were fires on both ships.”

At least 32 people have been brought ashore, according to Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the nearby Port of Grimsby East. Ambulances were waiting at the dock to take them to hospital, Boyers told CNN.

The incident involves a US-flagged tanker called the Stena Immaculate, and a container ship called the Solong – which is sailing under the flag of Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal – according to the ship tracking tool VesselFinder.

A spokesperson for Stena Bulk, a Swedish company that owns the Stela Immaculate, told CNN that all of the tanker’s crew members have been accounted for and brought to safety, but could not confirm how many were on board at the time of the collision.

The Solong left the Scottish port of Grangemouth on Sunday evening and was headed for Rotterdam, the Netherlands, when it careered into the Stena Immaculate, which was at anchor off the coast near the city of Hull, according to VesselFinder.

It was not immediately clear how or why the collision occurred.

“It seems a mystery, really, because all the vessels now have very highly sophisticated technical equipment to plot courses and to look at any obstacles or anything they’ve got to avoid,” Boyers said.

“It’s difficult to actually suggest what went on, other than the fact it should never have happened,” he added.

CNN/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma