Five Russians were on board the Solong container ship when it rammed the Stena Immaculate – which was carrying supplies for the US military – off the English coast, triggering a fire on both ships.
The Russian captain, 59, was arrested by Humberside police after the incident on Monday, with his detention extended today to give officers have more time to question him.
The sailor, who has not been named, has been permitted to talk to the Russian embassy in London, it emerged today.
State news agency TASS revealed that Russian diplomats ‘spoke with the detained captain of the Solong and are in contact with his lawyer and family’.
He ‘feels well’ even though he was arrested ‘on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision’. They confirmed he was a Russian citizen.
All five Russians involved in the North Sea drama are ‘alive’, according to Russian sources.
The crew of the 459ft Solong were reported to be Russian and Filipino, and one person is known to be missing, presumed dead after the incident.
A total of 36 crew members from the two vessels were brought safely ashore, with no major injuries.
Smoke is seen billowing from the MV Solong cargo ship in the North Sea, off the Yorkshire coast earlier this week
MV Stena Immaculate exploded into a ‘massive fireball’ after being hit by MV Solong yesterday
Water can be seen flowing through the damaged hull of the Immaculate on Tuesday
The US-flagged 50,000-ton MV Stena Immaculate was engulfed by a huge fireball after Solong ‘came out the blue’ and ploughed into it.
Solong sliced through the hull of the tanker, causing thousands of litres of jet fuel to spill into the sea and forcing sailors from both vessels to abandon ship.
The Russian embassy in London earlier said: ‘The embassy has been monitoring the situation around the collision of two ships in the North Sea on March 10 from the very first minutes .
‘Consular staff are in close contact with the British competent authorities.
‘During this time, local authorities have not received any information about the presence of Russian citizens on board these vessels, or about other Russians injured as a result of this accident.’
The Russian embassy in London said: ‘As of March 14, additional information has emerged regarding the Russian citizens from the crew of the Solong vessel, flying the Portuguese flag, which collided with the Stena Immaculate tanker flying the US flag in the North Sea on March 10.
‘According to the ship owner, the Solong crew includes five citizens of the Russian Federation.
‘Among them is the ship’s captain, who was detained by the competent authorities of the United Kingdom and is currently under investigation.
Pictured are the charred remains of cargo ship MV Solong was completely destroyed by Monday’s fire. The ship was captained by a Russian national
Pictured is the thick black plume of smoke punching through the sky on Monday as the fires raged on both ships
‘All crew members from among Russian citizens are alive, they did not receive injuries as a result of the incident, and the sailors’ condition does not cause concern.
‘On the evening of March 13, diplomats from the consular section of the Embassy held a detailed telephone conversation with the captain of the vessel.
‘According to him, he feels well.
‘The Russian citizen has been provided with an interpreter and a lawyer, with whom our employees also maintain constant contact.
‘The Embassy is in close contact with the British competent authorities, including with the police station where the ship’s captain is currently being held, as well as with the wife of our compatriot.’
Citing the complexity of the case, police said a court had granted them a further 24 hours to keep the Solong’s captain in custody, on top of the previous 36-hour extension.
Salvage companies boarded the two vessels on Thursday and were carrying out initial damage assessments, the coastguard said, adding that small fires were still being reported on the Solong’s top deck.
Police said extensive lines of inquiry were continuing but it was taking time given the vessels were still at sea and there were a large number of witnesses involved.
A handful of the American crew of the Stena Immaculate spoke about what happened but asked not to be identified.
They were so close to the flames as they boarded the lifeboat that some suffered singed hair. Thankfully all survived without serious injury. One member of the Solong crew is missing presumed dead.
One crewman said: ‘Yesterday was a bad start to the day, but it ended gloriously. Why? All 23 of us got off the ship without anybody being in it.’ Adding that he was ‘pleased to be alive.’
Asked about his actions immediately after the tanker carrying a cargo of jet fuel burst into flames, he said: ‘I did have time to think. I ran through the procedures. Because if I hadn’t had time to think, we wouldn’t have survived.
‘We drilled, we trained, we prepared for the unprepared. We do emergency prep non-stop. Regardless of outside uncontrollable forces.’
Marine experts have speculated that the Portuguese-registered Solong was on autopilot when it veered into the tanker with devastating results.
The survivor commented: ‘You have to be watching the autopilot. And no one is watching the autopilot.
‘It would be like if you were sitting in a car park on Sunday morning, reading a newspaper or playing with your phone, right? And a car enters on the other side of the car park. He’s heading for it, but then he falls asleep or he’s doing something, and the car just goes careening into the other one.
‘Who’s at fault? It’s clear they are the ones at fault. That’s all I can say.’
Another American crewman told CBS news how the other ship ‘came from out of the blue.’
He said he was near the section of the Stena Immaculate where the Solong made its impact and that he had only seconds to react when he heard shouts to brace before impact.
All of a sudden ‘a massive ship came from out of the blue,’ he said.
Other crew members from the Stena Immaculate described how it appeared as if no one was on the bridge of the Solong at the moment of impact, he said.
The Solong continued to drive into the ship for about 10 minutes after initial impact.
