U.S. tanker is leaking fuel in the North Sea after a collision with a container ship
LONDON — Dramatic TV footage shows a U.S.-flagged oil tanker spewing black smoke and flames after a collision with a container ship loaded with cargo off Britain’s North Sea coast.
U.K. Coastguard and firefighting helicopters were hovering over the burning ships, as lifeboats ferried survivors away. The chief executive of a nearby port told local media there was a “massive fireball” following the collision. Authorities said 37 people have been rescued. One required hospitalization, and all crew from both boats are now ashore.
The U.S.-flagged vessel is one of 10 tankers that are part of a U.S. government program supplying fuel to the U.S. military during times of armed conflict or national emergency, the BBC reported.
The U.S. tanker’s operator, Florida-based Crowley Maritime, said in a statement on social media that its vessel, the MV Stena Immaculate, was struck while anchored off the North Sea coast near Hull in East Yorkshire. It says the vessel was carrying jet fuel, which is now leaking into the sea.
A member of the United Kingdom’s parliament representing the area, Graham Stuart, expressed concern in a statement about the collision’s “potential ecological impact.”
“The magnitude of any [environmental] impact will depend on … the amount and type of oil carried by the tanker, the fuel carried by both ships, and how much of that … has entered the water,” Stefano Gelmini, a spokesperson for Greenpeace U.K., told NPR in an emailed statement. “Sea and weather conditions will also be important in determining how any spill behaves.”
“The speed of the response will also be crucial in limiting any impact,” he added.
It is “too early” to assess the extent of environmental damage so far, Gelmini said, but “both the high speed of the collision and the footage of the aftermath are cause for great concern.”
The collision happened in a busy North Sea waterway with shipping traffic between England, the Netherlands and Germany.
At the Supreme Court, the case of the candidate who sued, even though he won
At issue was a suit by Rep. Michael Bost, R-Ill., challenging an Illinois regulation that allows ballots mailed in by Election Day to be counted for up to 14 days after polls close.
Israel and Hamas agree on the ‘first phase’ of Gaza ceasefire deal
The deal raises the possibility that the war may now be over, ending the bloodiest fighting ever between Israelis and Palestinians.
After Spain’s blackout, critics blamed renewable energy. It’s part of a bigger attack
When millions lost power in Spain and Portugal this spring, some were quick to blame too much solar and wind power. That wasn't the cause, but the misinformation had an impact.
‘Fairyland’ recalls a girl’s life with her poet father in pre-AIDS San Francisco
Alysia Abbott's memoir about growing up in 1970s San Francisco with her gay, single father, has been adapted into a film directed by Andrew Durham and produced by Sofia Coppola.
Los Angeles: Spaghetti Cumbia, a band born from cultural fusion
Photographers and storytellers Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky document cumbia music in Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and the United States.
What are your holiday shopping plans? NPR wants to hear from you
Is this the season of cutbacks or splurges? As we prepare to cover holiday shopping and deals, NPR wants to hear from you, whatever your plans may be.
