Smoke rises from damaged containers on the deck of the MV Solong cargo ship (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Environmental organisations and the UK authorities are racing to limit the pollution from the ship collision in the North Sea. A German Navy surveillance aircraft was despatched to help the British Coastguard monitor leaking from the two vessels.
Transport Minister Mike Kane said counter pollution measures would begin when the fire on the Solong cargo ship had been extinguished. Answering questions in the Commons, Mr Kane said: “The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is standing by with marine and aerial counter pollution measures, those are in place. Once we get the fire on the Solong out, we will begin to deploy them, assess the situation and begin to deploy those measures.
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“And I’ve said, it’s vital that we keep shipping lanes open as best we can in the Humber Estuary as this continues.”
The MV Stena, which was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel, collided with the Solong on Monday in the North Sea.
There were concerns that sodium cyanide on board the stricken Solong container ship would devastate the environment but its owner shipping firm Ernst Russ said this was not the case.
A statement said: “We are able to confirm that there are no containers on board ladened with sodium cyanide, as has been misreported. There are four empty containers that have previously contained the hazardous chemical, and these containers will continue to be monitored.”
Experts had warned fuel and oil leaks could “devastate” wildlife and called it an “environmental disaster”.
Martin Slater, Director of Operations at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said he was “very worried” about the impact any spill could have on wildlife populations including significant colonies of seabirds, as well as wintering waders and migrating birds.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has confirmed that air quality at ground level is “currently within normal levels for the weather conditions”, and the UK Health Security Agency has advised that any public health risk on shore is “currently deemed to be very low”.