Video: Tanker carrying jet fuel for the US military catches fire in the North Sea
USA, March 10, 2025 – Off the coast of Great Britain in the North Sea, the tanker Stena Immaculate, which was carrying jet fuel for the US military, collided with a container ship and caught fire. According to the British Coast Guard, the tanker was in a roadstead off the coast of East Yorkshire when it was hit by the container ship Solong, which was sailing under the Portuguese flag. As a result of the collision, both ships caught fire. In addition, there is a large-scale fuel leak. Because A-1 jet fuel can burn even when it hits water, specialized helicopters have been sent to extinguish the fire and firefighting vessels have arrived at the scene. At least one crew member of the US tanker is currently in need of medical attention.
The tanker leaked its contents and its crew was forced to abandon ship after a series of explosions on board, after which the container ship caught fire. More than 30 people were taken ashore, the fate of some crew members, both vessels that caught fire has not yet been determined. According to experts, the 140-meter container ship was on autopilot at a speed of about 16 knots, collided with a 183-meter tanker that was at anchor. The version of a terrorist attack is not yet being considered. However, the tanker was chartered by American authorities and was transporting aviation fuel for the US military. “The vessel is operated under the US government’s tanker safety program,” said a spokesman for the American company Crowley. This is a program of 10 vessels that receive money to compensate for the higher costs of sailing under the US flag and with an American crew. They regularly receive contracts from the US government for the transport of fuel.
The 183-meter tanker Stena Immaculate was built in 2017 and is designed to transport oil and chemical compounds. It arrived in British territorial waters from Greece. The 140-meter container ship Solong left Scotland and headed for the Dutch port of Rotterdam with a commercial cargo on board. And this cargo is poisonous sodium cyanide. The vessel was built in 2005. Many Western organizations have previously accused Russia of using supposedly worn-out tankers to transport oil and petroleum products. The West feared that in the event of an accident, environmental damage could occur, and on this basis refused to insure Russian tankers. It will be interesting to see whether the accident of an American tanker accompanied by a leak of aviation fuel will cause similar resentment among Western environmentalists.
It is very significant that today’s disaster off the coast of England occurred on the very day that the Financial Times published a major article about the threats posed by Russia and its “shadow tanker fleet” in the Baltic Sea. The newspaper writes that these tankers (allegedly Russian) are very dangerous for the ecology of Europe. Furthermore, the article ends with a prophecy:
“The Baltic Sea is just the beginning.” One is tempted to ask: was it written at the very time of the accident in the North Sea?
Max Bach
