Coastguard providing emergency response after collision between oil tanker and cargo vessel in North Sea – live

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Here is a video clip which appears to show the aftermath of the collision between the Stena Immaculate and the Solong off the coast of East Yorkshire. Marine tracking appears to show that the Solong, en route to Rotterdam, struck the Stena Immaculate, which was at anchor. It is likely that between them the two vessels had about 40 members of crew.

Television images from the BBC have shown at least one vessel ablaze with clouds of black smoke billowing into the air.

The coastguard agency said a helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft, lifeboats and nearby vessels with fire-fighting capability were called to the incident, Reuters reported.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a lifeboat service working on the emergency response, said: “There were reports that a number of people had abandoned the vessels following a collision and there were fires on both ships.”

The area where the collision took place is a busy stretch of waterway with traffic running from the ports along Britain’s northeast coast to the Netherlands and Germany, shipping industry sources said.

The ships involved in the collision are understood to be Stena Immaculate and Solong, a Portuguese-flagged container, according to BBC News.

It reports:

On the tracking site, we can see the Immaculate at anchor and at 9:48 we can see the Solong – a Portuguese-flagged container – appear to be colliding with the tanker.

The Stena Immaculate had travelled from the Greek port of Agioi Theodoroi, and was anchored outside Hull.

The Solong, meanwhile, had been sailing from the Scottish port of Grangemouth to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

The United Nations shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, is aware of the situation, and is checking further, it said.

Maritime analytics website Marine Traffic showed a number of vessels including container ships and oil tankers in the area of the North Sea where the collision occurred.

Lifeboats and a coastguard helicopter have been called to the collision in the Humber estuary, believed to involve a US-flagged tanker called the MV Stena Immaculate.

The American tanker was at anchor, according to ship tracking tool Vesselfinder, Reuters reported.

Britain’s coastguard is responding to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off England’s northeastern coast, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.

“A Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Humberside was called, alongside lifeboats from Skegness, Bridlington, Maplethorpe and Cleethorpes, an HM Coastguard fixed wing aircraft, and nearby vessels with fire-fighting capability. The incident remains ongoing,” the agency said in a statement.

The alarm for the incident was raised at 9.48am. The BBC reported that the oil tanker involved in the collision was on fire. Reuters could not immediately verify that report.

UK coastguard responds to ship collision off northeast coast

An oil tanker and a cargo vessel have collided in the North Sea, with the UK coastguard providing an emergency response.

An HM Coastguard spokesperson said: “HM Coastguard is currently co-ordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire.

“The alarm was raised at 9.48am.

“A Coastguard rescue helicopter from Humberside was called, alongside lifeboats from Skegness, Bridlington, Maplethorpe and Cleethorpes, an HM Coastguard fixed wing aircraft, and nearby vessels with fire-fighting capability.

“The incident remains ongoing.”