Oil tanker, cargo ship collision triggers huge blaze in North Sea, 32 injured

Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency said several lifeboats and a coast guard rescue helicopter were dispatched to the scene in the North Sea

An oil tanker and a cargo ship collided in the North Sea off the coast of England on Monday, triggering a massive fire that injured 32 people.

A Coastguard helicopter, aircraft, lifeboats from four towns and other nearby vessels were part of the large rescue operation(@sentdefender/X)

Grimsby port director Martin Boyers told AFP that the injured had been brought ashore for treatment in three vessels. He added that ambulances were “queuing on the quay”.

"Yes we can confirm that," Lena Alvling, a spokesperson for the Swedish shipowner Stena Bulk, told AFP when asked whether the crew were all alive.

The UK Coast Guard said it was coordinating the rescue operations after "reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire", a Coastguard spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that the Coastguard was assessing the likely counter-pollution response required.

Images on UK television channels showed a huge plume of thick, black smoke and flames rising from the scene about 10 miles (16 kilometres) off the coast.

There were reports of "fires on both ships" that UK lifeboat services were responding to, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) told AFP.

There were also reports that several people had abandoned the vessel.

The International Maritime Organization said that "the current focus is on the firefighting and search and rescue operation".

UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was "concerned to hear of the collision between two vessels in the North Sea this morning and am liaising with officials and HM Coastguard as the situation develops". She also thanked all the emergency services that rushed to the scene.

The alarm about the collision near the port city of Hull in East Yorkshire was raised at 0948 GMT.

A Coast Guard helicopter, aircraft, lifeboats from four towns and other nearby vessels were part of the large rescue operation, the Coast Guard added.

Oil tanker owned by Swedish firm, operated by US-based company

Swedish tanker company Stena Bulk confirmed it owned the oil tanker involved in the accident, adding that it was operated by Crowley, a US-based maritime company.

The tanker was named the Stena Immaculate by online ship tracking service Marine Traffic, which said the vessel was anchored near its destination, Immingham, near Hull.

It had travelled from Greece loaded with petroleum products, according to Bloomberg.

An Associated British Ports (ABP), which operates the Port of Hull and Immingham, said it was "aware" of the incident and was "assisting" the Coastguard.

The MarineTraffic shipping tracker said the cargo ship involved was the Portuguese-flagged "Solong", owned by the German company Reederei Koepping.