First picture of North Sea tanker collision crew released

The co-owners of an lipid tanker progressive successful a collision with a cargo vessel successful the North Sea person released the archetypal representation of immoderate of the unit and praised their "exceptional bravery".

The Stena Immaculate and cargo vessel Solong collided successful the North Sea, disconnected East Yorkshire, connected 10 March, triggering an detonation and fires, which had present been extinguished.

One unit member, a Filipino national, of the Portuguese-flagged Solong is missing and presumed dead. The Russian skipper of the cargo vas has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

HM Coastguard said it was continuing to region tiny integrative pellets recovered washed up connected northbound Norfolk beaches and different areas astir The Wash.

The Florida-based maritime operations company, Crowley, which was managing the tanker, posted a photograph connected societal media showing 19 unit members.

In a statement, it said: "Our deepest gratitude and respect goes retired to our 23 mariners from the Stena Immaculate for their exceptional bravery and speedy enactment during the caller allision to their vessel successful the North Sea.

"Their decisive efforts and teamwork to execute captious occurrence and exigency duties helped to prevention lives, support the integrity of the vas and minimize the interaction connected the environment.

"Against disastrous circumstances, the unit had the operational absorption to guarantee occurrence monitors were progressive successful bid to supply bound cooling water, which resulted successful constricted interaction to conscionable 1 of the 16 cargo holds."

Crowley thanked each 23 for their courageousness and "dedication to safety".

"[It] sets a almighty illustration for the full industry," the institution added.

HM Coastguard said 36 radical - from some vessels - were rescued and taken safely to enactment successful Grimsby.

The RNLI thanked unpaid lifeboat crews from Bridlington, Cleethorpes, Humber, Mablethorpe and Skegness for their efforts successful the hunt and rescue operation.

George Pickford, the RNLI's caput of region, said: "We recognise their courageousness and dedication arsenic they spent hours retired astatine sea, facing challenging conditions."

Chief coastguard Paddy O'Callaghan said some the Solong and Stena Immaculate were "stable", with salvage operations continuing.

"Fires connected committee the Solong person been extinguished and somesthesia monitoring has been acceptable up," helium said.

Mr O'Callaghan said a "retrieval operation" would proceed connected Tuesday aft tiny balls of integrative resin, known arsenic nurdles which are utilized successful plastics production, were sighted disconnected The Wash and on the Norfolk enactment betwixt Old Hunstanton and Wells-next-the-Sea.

According to the coastguard, nurdles are not toxic but tin contiguous a hazard to wildlife if ingested.

The Wash is simply a ample inlet of the North Sea stretching from southbound of Skegness, successful Lincolnshire, to adjacent Hunstanton, successful Norfolk.

"Regular aerial surveillance flights proceed to show some vessels and the retrieval operation," added Mr O'Callaghan.

Steve Rowland, an country manager for the RSPB, said pellets the size of lentils were washing up on miles of the Norfolk coast.

Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, was named by the Crown Prosecution Service arsenic the missing unit member.

The skipper of the Solong, Vladimir Motin, 59, of Primorsky successful St Petersburg, Russia, appeared astatine Hull Magistrates' Court connected Saturday charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

He was remanded successful custody to look earlier the Central Criminal Court successful London connected 14 April.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is trying to found the origin of the collision.

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