Police Continue Questioning Russian Captain Over North Sea Collision

 SOLONG pictured on 13 March 2025 (Photo: Maritime and Coastguard Agency)

March 14, 2025

LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) – British police said on Friday they were granted more time to question the 59-year old Russian captain of a container ship that crashed into a U.S. tanker earlier this week. 

The captain of the Portuguese-flagged Solong has been held in police custody since Monday following his arrest on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after his ship hit the Stena Immaculate tanker, which was carrying U.S. military jet fuel.

One crew member is believed to have lost their life in the incident while 36 other crew members survived and were brought to shore. 

Citing the complexity of the case, police said a court had granted them a further 24 hours to keep the man in custody, on top of the previous 36-hour extension. 

Salvage companies boarded the two vessels on Thursday and were carrying out initial damage assessments, the coastguard said. In an update on Friday, it said there were only small periodic pockets of fire, which were not causing “undue concern.” 

Police said extensive lines of inquiry were continuing but it was taking time given the vessels were still at sea and there were a large number of witnesses involved. 

“Additional time has been imperative to the investigation due to the complexities of the incident,” the police said. 

Russia’s embassy in London said in a statement shared on messaging platform Telegram that it had a “detailed telephone conversation” with the captain on Thursday, and that he was feeling well.

In its Friday statement, the embassy said it was in close contact with British authorities, including with the police station where the captain is being held. 

(Reporting by Sarah Young and Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Catarina Demony)

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