Smoke rises from the deck of the MV Solong cargo ship as tugs stand off in the North Sea, off the coast of Withernsea, east of England, on March 11, 2025, after it collided with the MV Stena Immaculate tanker on March 10.

The manager of the container ship told ABC News that the ship’s master was arrested following Monday’s collision in the North Sea with a moored oil tanker. While the U.S.-flagged oil tanker Stena Immaculate was anchored on the eastern coast of the United Kingdom, close to Hull, England, the Portuguese container ship Solong collided with it, setting both ships on fire, officials reported Monday.

The U.K. coast guard reported that 36 individuals from the two ships were safely brought ashore. According to Ernst Russ, the manager of the container ship, one of the crew members of the Solong is still unaccounted for following the incident.

In an update Monday night, the U.K. Coast Guard reported that the search for the missing crew member was fruitless and has ended. U.K. Transport Minister Mike Kane informed the House of Commons on Tuesday that the missing person is thought to be deceased.

Damaged parts of the fuel tanker

In a statement to ABC News, the container ship’s manager, Ernst Russ, acknowledged that Humberside police had taken the Solong’s master into custody.

“The master and our entire team are actively assisting with the investigations,” Ernst Russ said. “Out of respect for the investigation and all involved we will not comment further at this time.”

A day after the accident, aerial footage showed that the fires on board the two ships mainly had been extinguished, though a shipping official stated that it would be “premature” to declare that the tanker’s fire had been extinguished.

“There will be an investigation,” Port of Grimsby CEO Martyn Boyers stated on Tuesday. “With all these vessels’ technology, there’s no way it should have happened.”

According to Crowley, at least one cargo tank burst in the accident, causing many explosions on board the Stena Immaculate, which was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel at the time.

The crews of both ships abandoned them after suffering severe damage.

Image showing the fuel tanker MV Stena Immaculate in the North Sea, off the coast of northeast England, Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

According to a statement released by the British Coast Guard on Tuesday, an “exclusion zone” has been established within a kilometer of the two ships. Safety vessels and other vessels with firefighting capabilities are still on the scene, with more arriving today,” the coast guard warned. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is investigating the cause of the crash.

On Tuesday, Kane informed the House of Commons that agency representatives are surveying the two ships and will provide him with official results.

According to Kane, no pollution has been reported yet.

“As it currently stands, no sign of pollution from vessels is observed at this time,” he stated. “But monitoring is in place and should that change, assets in place will be provided as needed.”