The Mystery of the North Sea Collision: Unraveling the Truth Behind the Allision

As a recent allision between a U.S.-flagged oil/product tanker and a Portuguese container ship in the North Sea keeps reverberating across the maritime industry, many conspiracy theories are making the rounds. With this in mind, multiple players are keen on getting to the bottom of the incident, including the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), which has taken the lead on the official investigation into the root cause of the collision.

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency was notified on Monday, March 11, 2025, about a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire, which resulted in fires aboard both vessels. As a result, 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 firefighting capability.

The fire on these ships broke out after Stena Bulk’s Stena Immaculate oil/product tanker, operated and managed by Crowley, got hit by the Solong container ship while anchored off Hull in the North Sea, which led to a breach in a cargo tank on the tanker carrying Jet A-1 fuel. The rescue efforts enabled 36 people to be brought safely to shore, but one crew member of the Solong container ship, owned by Ernst Russ, remains unaccounted for.

Paddy O’Callaghan, Chief Coastguard, explained: “The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), working with other partners, continues to support the joint response to the collision between the Solong and the Stena Immaculate. While no fire is visible on the Stena Immaculate there are still small pockets of fire on the top deck of the Solong. Specialist vessels with fire fighting capability continue to provide support to this aspect of the operation. The Solong has now been towed to a safe location with the Stena Immaculate remaining at anchor at its original location.

“Three aerial surveillance flights have taken place today and these have not indicated any pollution on the surface of the water attributable to either of the casualty vessels. HM Coastguard’s Counter Pollution and Salvage team has a comprehensive counter pollution response in place should it be required. Salvors will conduct on-board assessments of the vessels as soon as they are safe to board.”

Speculations and Investigations

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) selected the Stena Immaculate in 2023 to serve in its Tanker Security Program. Following the North Sea vessel collision incident, U.S. officials allegedly could not rule out ‘foul play’ as a potential cause for the crash that set these vessels ablaze. On the other hand, UK authorities emphasized that they found no evidence of foul play.

While conspiracy theories started circulating right after the vessel crash, the arrest of a Russian national, who is said to be Solong’s captain, in connection with the North Sea allision on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence, turned up the heat, especially after Ernst Russ said the cargo vessel’s crew were a mix of Russian and Filipino nationals.

The rise in speculation prompted Nautilus International, a trade union and professional organization serving, supporting, and protecting the interests of over 20,000 maritime professionals in the UK, Netherlands, and Switzerland, to urge restraint and caution. Since the oil tanker was carrying jet fuel, environmental groups are concerned about the impacts a spill from the crash could have on marine life.

Salvage and Environmental Concerns

Erik Hånell, President & CEO of Stena Bulk, highlighted: “We are pleased to report that as of Wednesday’s assessment, the fire onboard the Stena Immaculate has completely ceased, with no visible signs of smoke or flame. The vessel remains in a stable condition, securely anchored, and is being continuously monitored via a salvage vessel by representatives from Crowley, Stena Bulk and UK government authorities.

“Initial third-party salvage operations for the Stena Immaculate have commenced, with external vessel assessments indicating no ongoing release of cargo product to the water and no sheen visible on the water surface. The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed on Wednesday that there have been no further reports of pollution to the sea from the Stena Immaculate.”

Stena Bulk and Crowley are supporting government agencies in monitoring environmental conditions, and full salvage activities onboard are due to begin as soon as weather and safety considerations permit. The owner of the Stena Immaculate tanker claims the exact volume of Jet A-1 fuel that may have been released due to the incident remains unclear, since out of the 16 cargo holds, at least one was impacted.

“Our priorities continue to be supporting the incident response, mitigating any potential environmental threats, and ensuring the continued wellbeing of Stena Immaculate’s crew, who are currently in Grimsby. Authorities are continuing their investigation into the cause of the incident. Stena Bulk and the crew of the Stena Immaculate remain committed to fully cooperating with this investigation,” added Hånell.

Official Investigations and Findings

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch inspectors are conducting a preliminary assessment to find out what happened after deploying a team of inspectors to Grimsby. While representatives from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. Coastguard, and Marine Safety Investigation Authority Portugal have joined the probe, consultations with those flag state authorities led to an agreement that enables MAIB to take the lead in the safety investigation, with Portugal and the United States acting as substantially interested states.

According to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, the priority so far has been to allow the emergency services the time to undertake search and rescue operations, secure the vessels, and assess the environmental impact. In the meantime, MAIB’s inquiries have focused on gathering witness accounts and obtaining digital data.

“From the initial enquiries made it is known that Solong frequently travelled between Grangemouth and Rotterdam and regularly used the route it took on the day of the collision. On Monday morning at 0130 UTC, Solong passed to the east of the Longstone lighthouse and altered course onto a heading of approximately 150° at a speed of about 16.4 knots,” elaborated MAIB.

Conclusion and Future Actions

Morningstar DBRS, a Canada-based global credit ratings agency, has estimated the total insured losses arising from the allision to range between $100 million and $300 million for all coverages. MAIB plans to conduct a detailed inspection of both vessels and manage the retrieval of the voyage data recorders (VDR) as soon as safety conditions enable it.

The purpose of the investigation will revolve around establishing the cause of events that led to this tragic accident, understanding why it happened, and making recommendations to prevent similar accidents from recurring.

“As well as continuing to gather witness accounts, further investigation work will look to establish the navigational practices on board both vessels; the manning and fatigue management; the condition and maintenance of the vessels involved; and the environmental conditions at the time,” underlined the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

Footage of the incident, captured by Orca AI’s lookout unit (SeaPod) mounted on the tanker Ionic Aspis anchored off the port of Grimsby close to the tanker MV Stena Immaculate at the time of the accident, is available to the UK investigating authorities. This footage entails two videos.

While one was captured by the SeaPod’s day cameras, showing the dense fog that would likely have prevented the crew of the feeder containership MV Solong from seeing the MV Stena Immaculate with the human eye, the second video captured by the SeaPod’s thermal cameras shows the approach of the Solong and the explosion as it plowed into the tanker, according to Orca AI.

Yarden Gross, CEO and Co-founder of Orca AI, explained: “This video footage clearly shows the context of the accident, that is the fog conditions at the time, while the moment of impact is also shown clearly. This week’s collision is another stark reminder of the fragility of maritime navigation. Despite technological advancements, crews still rely heavily on traditional navigation tools that struggle with target detection in low visibility conditions, rough weather, and dense fog.

“Compounding these challenges, crew fatigue remains a critical issue, reducing reaction times and increasing the risk of human error. By integrating AI, ships can operate with greater autonomy, improving crew situational awareness, optimizing response times, and ultimately reducing risks. These advancements empower crews with smarter, data-driven decision-making tools to navigate safely and efficiently.”