A number of people abandoned the vessels after the crash in the North Sea, with the RNLI sending rescue boats from Bridlington and several seaside towns in Lincolnshire.

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 coast guard.It had sent four crews to the scene after the crash was reported just before 9.50am and the incident “remains ongoing,” the coastguard said.

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.

Four lifeboat crews

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.” Where a number of people abandoned the vessels following the collision around 13 miles from the coast.

Spokesperson told CNN

The Stena Bulk spokesperson told CNN the tanker was transporting jet fuel. It had anchored off the English coast after leaving the Greek port of Agioi Theodoroi last month,

A statement US logistics group Crowley

US logistics group Crowley, which manages oil tanker Stena Immaculate, confirmed the vessel had released some jet fuel after sustaining a ruptured cargo tank.

In a statement, Crowley said: “The Stena Immaculate sustained a ruptured cargo tank containing Jet-A1 fuel due to the allision (when a moving ship hits a stationary object).

The firm said it initiated its emergency vessel response plan and is “actively working with public agencies to contain the fire and secure the vessel”.

A coastguard helicopter took off

A coastguard helicopter took off from Humberside and headed to the scene alongside lifeboats from Skegness, Bridlington, Maplethorpe and Cleethorpes.Coastguard fixed-wing aircraft and nearby vessels with firefighting capability have also been involved in the operation.

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A flurry of high-speed ships and a tugboat were seen moving towards the site of the collision at the time of the coastguard’s rescue operation, real-time data from VesselFinder showe

It seem that there is a five-mile air and sea exclusion zone around the location of the incident, which may be widened to 10 miles if later required.

According to VesselFinder

In confirmation of 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. 

Tanker’s crew members

The Solong had been due to travel to Rotterdam in the Netherlands after departing from Grangemouth in Scotland this morning, Marinetraffic.reported

On the other hand A spokesperson for Stena Bulk, a Swedish company that owns the Stena 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 Stena Immaculate

While the Stena Immaculate, which is managed by the United States logistics firm Crowley, is part of a fleet of 10 tankers involved in a US government program to supply its military with fuel. The Department of Defense’s “Tanker Security Program,” according to Crowley, “ensures a commercial fleet can readily transport liquid fuel supplies in times of need.”

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IMO aware of the incident.

The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations group responsible for regulating maritime transport, told CNN it is aware of the incident.

“The current focus is on the firefighting and search and rescue operation. In due course a full marine casualty investigation report should be submitted to the International Maritime Organization,” it said.

Two maritime security sources told news agency Reuters there was “no indication” of any malicious activity or other actors involved in the incident.

Source : Agencies'

Cargo Ship ,  ,collides ,  UK coast,IMO aware ,The Solong ,US-flagged tanker ,(RNLI) , British coast guard., Crowley