On the morning of 10 March, an oil tanker and a cargo ship collided in the North Sea, off the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. The BBC reports that, after receiving several alerts, it dispatched a team of journalists to the scene. Rescue operations are in full swing.

Online tracking systems indicate that the tanker is the Stena Immaculate, sailing under a United States flag, travelling from the Greek port of Agioi Theodoroi and anchored off Hull. It is one of ten tankers tasked with fuelling the armed forces during conflicts or national emergencies, though there is no indication that it was engaged in such a mission at the time of the collision. The cargo ship, named Solong and sailing under a Portuguese flag, had departed from the Scottish port of Grangemouth and was bound for Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

The circumstances of the accident are not yet clear: according to Sky News UK, it may have been caused by autopilot. Despite the distance from the coast and poor visibility, smoke and flames were visible from the port: it remains unclear whether both vessels caught fire or only the tanker. 32 crew members have been rescued: the head of Grimsby East port told Sky News UK that all are alive.

It is still too early to assess the environmental consequences. According to initial reports, the tanker is believed to have been carrying approximately 130,000 barrels of aviation fuel on board. If that is the case, it would be a light fuel that tends to evaporate rather than forming slicks on the water's surface like crude oil. That said, this would not rule out the risks — jet fuel is highly flammable (as the explosions on board demonstrate) and toxic to marine life and to humans if inhaled.