This is the heartstopping moment a giant oil tanker is crashed into by cargo vessel off the Yorkshire coast – sparking an enormous fire.
Flames leap into the sky and black smoke billows upwards from the deck of what’s believed to be the Stena Immaculate in the footage obtained by MailOnline.
The oil tanker – carrying 220,000 barrels of aviation fuel for US Airforce jets – was ‘speared’ by a Portuguese cargo vessel called Solong in the North Sea.
One crew member from the Solong is still missing and presumed dead while the 59-year-old Russian skipper of the ship is under arrest accused of gross negligence manslaughter.
In the clip, which was allegedly taken onboard the cargo ship and posted onto social media, a desperate crewman is heard pleading: ‘Lord, Lord, help us, Lord help us.’
Alarms and sirens can be heard in the background of the clip which lasts around ten seconds and was reportedly taken just minutes after Monday’s collision.
It is not known if the crewman who videoed the film was among the survivors taken off the Solong and those who did escape described how they narrowly escaped death.
Fires broke out on both vessels following the collision which happened as the oil tanker was anchored just off the east Yorkshire coast.
Horrifying footage appears to show the moment the MV Solong slammed into the side of jet fuel tanker the Stena Impeccable on Monday
The footage was reportedly captured moments after the crash and showed a huge fireball bursting from the sky
The devastating force of the crash left a huge hole in the US-flagged oil tanker
And the Portuguese Solong was completely destroyed in the inferno that followed
Coastguard officials say 36 people were rescued in the operation and initial fears of a major environmental disaster have now diminished.
Virginia McVea, chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said:’ There have been no further reports of pollution to the sea from either vessel beyond what was observed during the initial incident.’
The area of the east Yorkshire coast is home to a large seabird population and wildfire organisations are also monitoring the situation closely.
The footage emerged today as shameless pro-Putin propagandists claimed Britain had staged the North Sea tanker crash to blame Russia for the disaster, as part of a ‘ludicrous’ conspiracy theory.
The claims were ridiculed by a British minister, who said they showed the ‘depths to which Russian propaganda is now prepared to sink – almost literally‘.
The Russian captain of the doomed Solong was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of manslaughter after rescuers were unable to find one of his crew, who is now presumed dead.
The Russian captain has not been named by Humberside police but was arrested ‘on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision’.
His vessel slammed into the 50,000-ton Immaculate – which was carrying supplies for the US military – off the East Yorkshire coast shortly before 10am.
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
Other footage obtained by Sky News appears to show the conditions on the Impeccable before she was slammed into, with fog obscuring the view
The ship is now drifting off the coast of Lincolnshire following the disaster
Millions of gallons of fuel poured into the sea, with smoke from the fierce inferno visible from space.
Kremlin propagandist and pro-war pundit Sergey Mardan today dubbed Britain ‘great experts in organising sabotage’ as he claimed the UK could ‘easily harm’ an American ship in a bid to blame Moscow for the disaster.
‘There are many interesting coincidences and details in this case,’ he said. ‘Pentagon fuel, a tanker flying an exotic American flag for the merchant fleet, and now a Russian captain.
‘The location of the emergency should also be taken into account – the territorial waters of Great Britain.’
He added: ‘The British are great experts in organising sabotage and provocations… For the sake of such a deal, they would easily [harm] both an American tanker and a piece of their own coastline.’
Russian media commentator Vladimir Kornilov, an analyst for Putin-controlled state news outlet Russia Today, said: ‘How predictable everything is with the British.
‘The arrested captain of the Portuguese dry cargo ship Solong, which rammed an American military tanker off the coast of England just before the [war] negotiations between Russia and the USA, of course, turned out to be a Russian citizen.’
He had predicted earlier ‘that London would definitely look for a “Russian trace”, he said. ‘Something tells me that this whole accident was organised under this “trace”.’
But British politicians have been quick to rubbish the ‘ludicrous’ conspiracy theory.
The Conservative’s shadow armed forces minister, Mark Francois, told MailOnline: ‘The idea that Britain somehow “staged” this very unfortunate accident is utterly ludicrous and just shows the depths to which Russian propaganda is now prepared to sink – almost literally.
‘The one question for Russia now is not about that incident but, bluntly, will Putin accept the US/Ukrainian ceasefire proposal – or not?’
Penny Mordaunt, a former Defence Secretary and Tory cabinet minister, added: ‘This Russian rebuttal is beyond parody.’
Kremlin propagandist and pro-war pundit Sergey Mardan (pictured) claimed Britain was behind the tanker crash on Monday
Russian media commentator Vladimir Kornilov also claimed Britain was behind the tragedy
MV Stena Immaculate exploded into a ‘massive fireball’ after being hit by MV Solong
Pictured is the mangled remains of the MV Stena Immaculate following Monday’s fire
Its hull was charred black by the blaze which engulfed much of the ship on Monday
Shadow transport minister Jerome Mayhew said the nationality of the Solong’s captain raises ‘further questions’ about the incident.
‘Where military assets are damaged it is vital that motives are fully investigated to exclude foul play,’ he said.
‘The nationality of the captain of the Solong raises further questions about potential motivation that the Government must now get to the bottom of.’
The 459ft Solong – with a crew of Russian and Filipino nationals – crashed into the 596ft Stena Immaculate on Monday.
A port inspection in July 2024 in Dublin found the vessel’s ’emergency steering position communications/compass reading’ unreadable.
Inspectors found a total of 10 deficiencies, including ‘inadequate’ alarms, survival craft ‘not properly maintained’ and fire doors ‘not as required.’
A later inspection in Scotland in October found two other deficiencies yet the ship wasn’t detained after either inspection.
One sailor from the Solong remains missing, presumed dead.
The other 36 crew members from the two vessels were brought safely ashore, with no major injuries.
Survivors of the crash yesterday told MailOnline they had only seconds to react.
The Solong, which is a smouldering wreck, is seen floating adrift in the North Sea on Tuesday
Recalling the terrifying maritime smash and aftermath, one crewmate from the Immaculate said: ‘It was either get into your life jacket or get incinerated.’
The 36 survivors of the tanker and cargo ship Solong were recovering at hotels in Grimsby on Tuesday as a full investigation began.
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.’
The Solong had been sailing from the Scottish port of Grangemouth to Rotterdam in the Netherlands
A Portuguese-flagged cargo ship carrying cyanide smashed into the US military oil tanker (pictured on Monday)
The Stena Immaculate, which had travelled from the Greek port of Agioi Theodoroi.
Meanwhile, the Solong had been sailing from the Scottish port of Grangemouth to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Assistant Chief Coastguard John Craig has said salvage firms are at the scene and are developing a plan to recover both the Solong and the Immaculate.
The Solong is currently being held offshore in a safe position by a tug boat.
Mr Craig said: ‘A tow line has now successfully been put in place and a tug is holding Solong offshore in a safer position.
‘There are still some flames visible on the main deck of the Solong and firefighting is focusing on this area.
‘A salvage plan is being developed with the appointed salvors on scene.’
In a statement on Wednesday morning, Virginia McVea, chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said efforts to recover the two stricken ships were ongoing.
She added: ‘There have been no further reports of pollution to the sea from either vessel beyond what was observed during the initial incident. HM Coastguard’s counter pollution and salvage team has a comprehensive counter pollution response in place should it be required. Salvors also have equipment and personnel ready to respond to any pollution.
‘The MCA is working with the salvage companies who are responding on behalf of the vessels’ owners and are working in full co-operation with all commercial and government partners. The overarching objective is to protect the public and the environment to the best of our ability, during this ongoing incident response.
The Immaculate’s deck this morning appeared black and charred following Monday’s inferno
Its hull was charred black by the blaze which engulfed much of the ship on Monday
‘The Solong is being held in a safe position offshore by a tug and further support vessels remain in the ship’s immediate vicinity. This morning’s (12 March) assessment shows the fires on board the ship have greatly reduced in their extent and intensity.
‘The Stena Immaculate remains at anchor, with safety tugs in position should they be required. There are no visible flames on board and an on-board assessment may be carried out later today.
‘Salvors will only board the vessels when it is safe to do so. Only then will it be possible to carry out comprehensive damage assessments.’
Collisions remain rare in the busy North Sea.
In October 2023, two cargo ships, the Verity and the Polesie, collided near Germany’s Heligoland islands in the North Sea.
Three people were killed and two others are still missing and considered dead.
In October 2015, the Flinterstar freighter, carrying 125 tonnes of diesel and 427 tonnes of fuel oil, sank after colliding with the Al Oraiq tanker five miles off the Belgian coast.
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