British police arrested the captain of a cargo ship on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter on Tuesday, a day after the vessel crashed into a tanker carrying US military jet fuel off the east coast of England, leaving the two vessels badly damaged.
The tanker Stena Immaculate was at anchor on Monday when it was struck by the smaller Solong, causing fires and explosions, releasing fuel into the sea and potentially posing a danger to wildlife.
Neither vessel is expected to sink, transport minister Heidi Alexander said after an earlier assessment had said the Solong was unlikely to remain afloat.
One crew member from the Portuguese-flagged Solong is assumed dead, maritime minister Mike Kane told parliament. A total of 36 people were brought ashore after the incident and no others remain missing, the coastguard said.
“We have arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision,” police said.
The ship's owner, Ernst Russ, said the arrested man was the ship's captain, or master.
“The master and our entire team are actively assisting with the investigations,” Russ said.
Aerial video on Tuesday showed a gaping hole in Stena Immaculate's hull, with fire damage along its length, though the flames that engulfed it after the collision appeared to have subsided.
Crowley, the US logistics group which operated the Stena Immaculate, said the fire on-board had diminished with no visible flames.
The Solong appeared badly burnt and smouldering. The coastguard said a 1km exclusion zone had been placed around the two vessels.
"Early indications suggest the vessels are expected to stay afloat and the Solong can be towed away from the shore, and salvage operations can get start,” Alexander said after a meeting with the coastguard agency.
Owners of the Solong said the vessel was not carrying sodium cyanide, contrary to an earlier report from maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence, which cited the local coastguard, but conservation groups said the environmental impact from the spillage of jet fuel could prove wide reaching.
The Solong owners said they were monitoring four containers which had previously been used to store sodium cyanide.
The surrounding area is home to large colonies of protected seabirds, including puffins and gannets, and a delicate coastal ecosystem.