PA Media/dpa
London
The under-arrest captain of a container ship which crashed into a US oil tanker in the North Sea off the English coast is Russian, the vessel’s owner has said.
Solong struck the Stena Immaculate off the east coast of Yorkshire on Monday morning.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said on Wednesday that fires on board Solong have “greatly reduced.” A spokesman for shipping company Ernst Russ, which owns Solong, said: “The captain is a Russian national.” The 59-year-old was arrested by Humberside Police on Tuesday on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
The force said on Wednesday morning the suspect “remains in [their] custody.” US-based maritime news website gCaptain reported it was told by a US official in the White House that foul play had not been ruled out.
Transport Minister Mike Kane told MPs on Tuesday something went “terribly wrong” for the crash to happen but there was “no evidence” of foul play. Shadow transport minister Jerome Mayhew told the PA news agency: “Where military assets are damaged it is vital that motives are fully investigated to exclude foul play.
“The nationality of the captain of the Solong raises further questions about potential motivation that the government must now get to the bottom of.” A Solong crew member is presumed dead after a search-and-rescue operation was ended on Monday evening.
