A container ship which collided with a US oil tanker in the North Sea will be towed to Aberdeen in Scotland, the coastguard has said.
The Solong smashed into the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate around 12 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire on 10 March, leaving one man missing, presumed dead.
The crash ruptured containers on the Solong and thousands of plastic pellets, called nurdles, have been washing up on beaches on the Norfolk coast, where a clean-up operation is ongoing.
The Solong. Pic: AP
Chief coastguard Paddy O’Callaghan said: “Salvage of the Solong has progressed to enable its relocation to the Port of Aberdeen for safe berthing.
“Solong will be under tow by one tug and accompanied by another tug, plus a vessel with counter-pollution measures should they be required.
“Tug and tow are scheduled to arrive at Aberdeen later this week.
“The Stena Immaculate remains in a stable condition with salvage ongoing.”
He added: “HM Coastguard continues to support local authorities which are leading the onshore response to pollution, including plastic nurdles, in Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
“HM Coastguard will continue to keep the overall situation under close review.”
The Stena Immaculate. Pic: PA
Last week King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Council said it had begun removing the nurdles, which are not toxic but could harm wildlife if ingested. It said it was focusing initially on a stretch of beaches between Holme-next-the-Sea and Old Hunstanton.
The National Trust also said nurdles had begun to appear on Brancaster Beach in Norfolk and the RSPB confirmed they have watched up at the charity’s reserve at nearby Titchwell.
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The company which owns the Solong said no containers holding plastic nurdles are thought to have been lost over the side of the ship, adding the pellets are believed to have been released from some of the smaller containers during fires on the ship.
It comes after the crew of the Stena Immaculate were praised as “heroic” for activating a crucial firefighting system before abandoning the vessel.
The firm said only a small proportion of the jet fuel being carried by the tanker was released in the crash.
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Captain of ship involved in North Sea crash appears in court
Some 36 people were rescued from the ships. The missing crew member has been named as 38-year-old Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia.
The Solong’s captain, Russian national Vladimir Motin, 59, appeared at Hull Magistrates’ Court charged with gross negligence manslaughter and was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 14 April.
