Man arrested in connection with tanker-container ship collision in North Sea: Police

A antheral has been arrested connected suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter aft a cargo vessel collided with an anchored lipid tanker Monday successful the North Sea, constabulary said.

The Portuguese instrumentality vessel Solong struck the U.S.-flagged lipid tanker Stena Immaculate portion the tanker was anchored connected the U.K.'s eastbound seashore adjacent Hull, England, with some vessels catching connected fire, officials said Monday.

Thirty-six radical betwixt the 2 ships were safely brought to shore, the U.K. seashore defender said.

One of the Solong's unit members remains missing successful the aftermath of the collision, according to Ernst Russ, the manager of the instrumentality vessel.

The hunt for the missing unit subordinate was unsuccessful and has ended, the U.K. seashore defender said successful an update Monday night. The missing idiosyncratic is believed to beryllium dead, U.K. Transport Minister Mike Kane told the House of Commons connected Tuesday.

Humberside constabulary said they began a transgression probe into the collision and person arrested a 59-year-old antheral pursuing the "conclusion of hunt operations by HM Coastguard for the missing unit subordinate of the Solong."

"The antheral arrested remains successful custody astatine this clip whilst enquiries are underway, and we proceed speaking with each those progressive to found the afloat circumstances of the incident," Humberside Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson said successful a statement.

Police did not merchandise immoderate further details connected the suspect, including his sanction oregon transportation to the incident.

The fishy is not a subordinate of the Stena Immaculate unit nor a mariner with Crowley, the manager of the ship, a Crowley spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.

MORE: Container vessel collides with anchored US-flagged lipid tanker successful North Sea

Fires burning connected committee the 2 vessels appeared successful aerial footage to person been mostly enactment retired a time aft the collision, though a shipping authoritative said it would beryllium "premature" to accidental the occurrence connected the tanker had been extinguished.

"There volition beryllium an investigation," Martyn Boyers, main enforcement of the Port of Grimsby, said Tuesday. "With each the exertion that these vessels have, there's nary mode it should person happened."

The Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of pitchy substance astatine the time, with astatine slightest 1 cargo vessel rupturing successful the collision and resulting successful aggregate explosions onboard, according to Crowley.

Both ships sustained important harm and were abandoned by their crews.

The British seashore defender said successful a connection connected Tuesday that the 2 ships had been separated and that an "exclusion zone" had been enactment successful spot wrong a kilometer of the ships.

"Safety vessels and different vessels with firefighting capabilities are inactive connected country with much arriving today," the seashore defender said.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is investigating the origin of the collision.

Kane told the House Commons connected Tuesday that officials with the bureau are on-site to survey the 2 vessels and volition study backmost to him with authoritative findings.

No contamination had been reported yet, Kane said.

"As it presently stands, nary motion of contamination from vessels is observed astatine this time," helium said. "But monitoring is successful spot and should that change, assets successful spot volition beryllium provided arsenic needed."

This is simply a processing story. Please cheque backmost for updates.

ABC News' Joe Simonetti and Mark Osborne contributed to this report.

Man arrested successful transportation with tanker-container vessel collision successful North Sea: Police primitively appeared connected abcnews.go.com