IMarEST Comment on the North Sea Shipping Collision

In response to the North Sea shipping collision, Chris Goldsworthy, CEO of the Institute of Marine  Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) said:  

“I’d like to pay tribute to the brave marine professionals who were on board the MT Stena Immaculate and MV Solong, as well those working tirelessly to combat the effects of this devastating collision in the North Sea. Whilst we await a full investigation, our thoughts are with all those affected both onboard and ashore, and we are offering our full support to our members and the wider marine community.  

“At this time, the expertise of marine professionals is critical to ensuring the safety of mariners and protecting our marine environment. It’s essential that we work together to combat the effects of this serious incident, and the IMarEST team is doing all we can to facilitate this.” 

Andy Teasdale, a marine safety advisor to the IMarEST, provides expert analysis and comment: 

On the environmental impacts of the collision Andy Teasdale said: 

“We know that the MT Stena Immaculate was carrying a cargo of jet fuel, which is a non-persistent oil that has minimal environmental impacts when it leaks, because it will either ignite and burn, or evaporate.  However, a bigger problem could be that both vessels may be carrying heavy fuel to power the engines (called bunkered fuel). If the vessel sinks or tanks are breached, then the bunkered fuel may leak out and start to produce pollution. However, we still don’t know what fuels were on board and whether the vessels have hull damage sufficient to cause leakage of the bunkered fuel.” 

On the investigation process Andy Teasdale said:  

“An expert team of specialists from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch will have been scrambled for this incident almost immediately and they will report in due course. We can’t speculate on the cause of the accident, but we can see that something was potentially amiss on the MV Solong, as no avoidance or slow down can be seen from the route tracking. To explore this, MAIB’s expert investigators will seek to recover both vessels’ Voyage Data Recorders (VDR) and assemble all radio messages between traffic control and coastguards. All those rescued from the vessels will be interviewed and given precautionary drug and alcohol tests. 

Andy Teasdale on the next steps for the operation: 

“It may be several days before the hulls have cooled sufficiently to allow boarding, assess the damage, and get towlines in place to move the damaged hulls. Whatever happens, the very first priority will be to recover anyone remaining on board. Then salvage crews will secure the bunkers remaining on board and get them to a safe port, which reduce further damage, stop potential pollution spreading and help investigators to establish the root causes of the incident.”