US tanker, Portuguese cargo ship collide off UK coast

A chemical tanker and a container ship have collided off the northeastern coast of England.

The vessels involved are the US-flagged chemical tanker Stena Immaculate and the Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong.

The collision occurred in a busy waterway with heavy traffic running from ports along Britain’s northeast coast to the Netherlands and Germany.

Reuters reports that the incident, which happened on Monday, caused a massive fire on at least one of the vessels and resulted in multiple casualties.

According to the report, authorities have launched an emergency response.

The chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East confirmed that 32 casualties have been brought ashore, with ambulances on standby to transport them to hospitals in the port town of Grimsby.

The BBC cited Stena Bulk CEO Erik Hanell, who stated that all crew members on the tanker had been accounted for.

“There were reports that a number of people had abandoned the vessels following the collision and that there were fires on both ships,” said the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, RNLI, which is assisting in the emergency response.

Stena confirmed that its tanker was operated by the U.S. logistics group Crowley and is one of just 10 vessels enlisted in a U.S. government program designed to supply fuel to the armed forces.

The United Nations shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, IMO, said it was aware of the situation.