Crewmembers From Stena Tanker Recount Moment of Boxship Impact

 

The Seafarers International Union (SIU) has released a first-hand account from the crew of the product tanker Stena Immaculate, which was hit by a boxship off the UK last month.

On March 10, the Portuguese-flagged feeder Solong was on a routine coastal voyage off Hull, UK, making 16 knots on a steady southbound course. Without slowing or maneuvering, Solong rammed the port side of the anchored product tanker Stena Immaculate, penetrating two tanks.

Stena Immaculate third mate Jeffrey Griffin told SIU that he was working out on deck at the time of the accident. 

“All I could see was something big and blue heading toward us. I immediately knew, it’s not going to miss us," Griffin said. "I was front and center when it allided between the seven port and six port cargo tanks. There was a great big loud crunching noise. That was followed by a whole lot of fire."

At first, the crew responded with shock and amazement. Those inside the deckhouse and belowdecks felt the vibration and knew something was wrong. 

"It wasn't a huge jolt. I remember looking through the fog and . . . I could faintly see the white outline of the house of the other ship. And then that first fireball happened," recalled OS Benjamin Brown. 

The crew ran out hoses and began to lay down foam to suppress the flames on deck. Two officers remained forward on the bow, and the firefighting efforts were successful enough that they could slip past and get back to the deckhouse. 

After half an hour of battling the fire, the master instructed the crew to abandon ship. "I won't say we were close to putting out the fire, but we were doing well," Griffin said. "I was about to do a muster when we heard the words, forget the muster, abandon ship. 

The crew mustered at the lifeboat, and after the second mate confirmed all were aboard, they gravity-launched into the water and motored off. The bosun noted that there was burning fuel on the water surface during their escape. Despite fumes from the fire and heavy smoke, they were unharmed, and were quickly rescued by nearby good Samaritan vessels.

Griffin said that he was already prepared to ship out again. "I’m a little shaken but I’m ready to go back to work. The fire – it happened. The abandon ship – it happened. We trained for it, we prepared for it, and everybody survived, so we obviously are doing something right," he told SIU. 

Stena Immaculate's cargo will be pumped off for safety, and the ship will be towed to Newcastle for a port of refuge. One crewmember of the boxship Solong is missing and presumed dead; the master of the Solong has been arrested on negligent manslaughter charges, and Stena and operator Crowley have sued the Solong's owner for damages. 

The owner, a subsidiary of Ernst Russ, is setting up a claims fund in the UK as proceedings begin. The firm has brought a limitation of liability case in UK admiralty court, which would limit the total claims amount to the value of the ship and her cargo.