North Sea: 32 injured in cargo ship collision

An oil tanker and a cargo ship collided off the coast of the United Kingdom on Monday, causing a large fire on both vessels.

The incident occurred in the North Sea near the city of Hull, and the alarm was first raised at 9:48 a.m. (UTC).

At least 32 people were injured, authorities said. They were brought ashore for treatment.

Lifeboats, firefighting vessels, a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft were deployed to respond to the incident.

"There were reports that a number of people had abandoned the vessels following a collision and there were fires on both ships," the Royal National Lifeboat Institution said.

What do we know about the ships?

Multiple sources reported that the oil tanker was believed to be the US-flagged chemical and oil products carrier MV Stena Immaculate.

It was at anchor at the time of the incident, according to the ship-tracking website VesselFinder.

Swedish firm Stena Bulk confirmed it owned the oil tanker involved in the collision, adding it was operated by US-based maritime company Crowley. Stena said all of the ship's crew had been accounted for.

The other vessel was believed to be the Portugal-flagged container ship Solong, which was sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

It is owned by German shipping company Reederei Koepping.

Rescue operation underway

The British Maritime and Coastguard agency said it is "currently coordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire."

"The incident remains ongoing and an assessment of the likely counter pollution response required is being enacted," a coastguard spokesperson added.

The UN's shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, also said it was aware of the situation.

Edited by: Natalie Muller