Greater ship collision in British waters sparks fear of toxic chemical leak

Researchers fear a larger collision between a cargo ship and a fuel tanker in the UK’s North Sea, causing a huge leak of toxic chemicals in delicate marine habitats, with potential devastating consequences for local wildlife.

A tanker called Stena Immaculate was moored off the coast of Hull, carrying 18,000 tonnes of jet fuel when it was hit by the container ship Solong on March 10. Solong transported 15 containers with very toxic sodium cyanide, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Both ships also wore tanks with bunker fuel to operate their travels.

Ernst Russ, the owner of the Solong Cargo ship, said in a station that both vessels were sitting “meaningless”. Huge fire spice up clouds of black smoke immediately broke out on the ships. A crew member from Solong is still reported missing.

“We are extremely concerned about the several toxic dangers that these scalp can pose for the marine life,” Paul Johnston at Greenpeace Research Laboratories on The University of Exeter, UK, said in a state thing.

The accident occurred in waters that are home to the international population of breeding seabirds, such as gannets, kittiwakes and groves. Harbor guinea pigs and gray seals are breeding nearby, and the rent is also on migration routes for waders and waterfowl.

“Chemical pollution due to events of this kind can directly affect birds, and it can also have long-la-la-la-la-la-la-hard works on the marine foods that are support,” Tom Webb at the University of Sheffield, UK, said in a state. “We have to hope that any waste can be quickly contained and minimized pollution.”

Crowley, the US-based company that managed Stena Immaculate, told Financial times The jet fuel has leaked into the North Sea from a fracture tank. Jet fuel is made of light hydrocarbons and will therefore evaporate relatively quickly, which potentially limits its environmental impact.

But the release of bunker fuel will have prolonged effects, Alex Lukyanov said at the University of Reading, UK, in a statement. “Marine Diesel can stifle habitats and wildlife that affect their ability to regulate body temperature, which potentially results in death,” he said. “The environmental toll could be serious.”

The release of sodium cyanide can also pose a serious danger to the water life as it inhibits oxygen uptake. It is not yet clear that her sodium cyanide has entered the water.

Johnston called on the British authorities to take urgent actions to include the release of toxic substances from the ships. “We must hope that an environmental disaster can be warned,” he said.

The British government said it worked closely with the Coastguard service to support the responsibility of the incident. When he spoke in Britain’s parliament on March 10, Baroness Sue Hayman said, a minister of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural, that she was “shocked and concerned” about the news of the collision. She said the work was in the process of assessing the extent and effect of any pollution from the collision.