The detained captain of the container ship that collided with an oil tanker on Monday in the North Sea is Russian. The German shipping company Ernest Russ, owner of the ship, confirmed this to the BBC.
The captain of the Solong, the cargo ship that collided with an oil tanker off the English coast, was arrested by the British police. The 59-year-old man is suspected of "manslaughter through gross negligence" after the death of a crew member in the collision.
At the time, there was seemingly no malicious intent, although according to government sources, this had not been ruled out. The man is still in custody, police said on Wednesday morning. The police have opened a criminal investigation into the incident.
According to the company Ernest Russ, the captain is cooperating with the investigation, along with the rest of the crew.
"Out of respect for the investigation and all those involved, we will not be making any further comments at this time," the shipping company said in a statement.
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The rest of the crew on the ship – a tanker carrying 220,000 tonnes of fuel for the American armed forces – is made up of Russian and Filipino nationals.
The collision occurred on Monday morning off the English North Sea coast, near the mouth of the Humber River. The Solong collided with the oil tanker Stena Immaculate, causing both ships to catch fire. Almost all crew members were rescued, but one is missing and presumed dead.
