Ship owner says arrested captain of cargo vessel involved in North Sea collision is Russian

LONDON (AP) — The skipper of a cargo vessel that collided with a U.S. tanker is simply a Russian nationalist who remains successful U.K. constabulary custody, the vessel’s proprietor said Wednesday.

The 59-year-old man, who hasn't been named by authorities, was arrested by constabulary successful northeast England Tuesday connected suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence implicit the collision. He hasn't been charged.

Shipping institution Ernst Russ, which owns the Portugal-flagged cargo vas Solong, said that the ship’s 14 unit were a premix of Russian and Filipino nationals.

U.K. authorities accidental they don’t fishy foul play successful the crash.

Port inspection documents amusement the Solong failed steering-related information checks successful Dublin, Ireland, successful July, with the vessel's "emergency steering presumption communications/compass reading” unreadable. Inspectors recovered a full of 10 deficiencies, including “inadequate” alarms, endurance trade “not decently maintained” and occurrence doors “not arsenic required."

An inspection successful Scotland successful October recovered 2 different deficiencies. The vessel wasn't detained aft either inspection.

The cargo vessel collided Monday with MV Stena Immaculate, a tanker transporting pitchy substance for the U.S. subject successful the North Sea disconnected eastbound England connected Monday, mounting some vessels ablaze. One sailor from the Solong is missing and presumed dead. The different 36 unit members from the 2 vessels were brought safely ashore, with nary large injuries.

The Solong was drifting and inactive connected occurrence Wednesday, but is apt to stay afloat alternatively than sinking, officials said.

The 183-meter (596-foot) Stena Immaculate was operating arsenic portion of the U.S. government’s Tanker Security Program, a radical of commercialized vessels that tin beryllium contracted to transportation substance for the subject erstwhile needed.

The collision sent pitchy substance pouring into the oversea and sparked fears of important biology damage. Environmentalists said that lipid and chemicals posed a hazard to oversea life, including whales and dolphins and to birds, including puffins, gannets and guillemots that unrecorded connected coastal cliffs.