Vessel collision adds to British Isles as incident hotspot
As fires continue to burn on both vessels after a collision in the North Sea off the UK’s East Yorkshire coast yesterday, Allianz Commercial said the British Isles is host to the most shipping incidents globally, accounting for almost 20% of the total worldwide. Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong struck the anchored Stena Immaculate tanker, which was carrying jet fuel for the US military, yesterday morning, causing fires on both vessels and a rescue operation for 37 mariners.
One crew member from the Solong, owned by German shipping group Ernst Russ, remains unaccounted for and the Solong’s cargo has yet to be confirmed, with early reports from Lloyd’s List citing containers of sodium cyanide among its load. The Solong was en route from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam.
Reports claim Norwegian mutual Skuld insured Solong’s protection and indemnity.
The Stena Immaculate, owned by Sweden-based Stena Bulk Marine Service, was reported to have travelled from Agioi port in Greece before it anchored by the Humber Estuary. The Humber Estuary closed to maritime traffic following the accident.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has a team of inspectors at the scene to determine the cause of the accident, while the Maritime and Coastguard Agency will assess the potential for pollution. HM Coastguard said work will begin with salvage companies and insurers.
Statistics from Allianz Commercial’s Safety and Shipping Review reveal that an average of three vessels are lost each year due to collisions with other vessels, with a total of 30 losses from collisions with other vessels in the ten years to 2023. Collision with another vessel accounts for about 4% of 729 total losses of vessels recorded over the past ten years. Collision is the second largest cause of shipping incidents globally, totalling 3,013 events in the past decade behind machinery failure, Allianz Commercial said.
North Sea vessel collision to cost insurers $100m-$300m: Morningstar DBRS
Insured losses from the vessel collision in the North Sea this week have been pegged by analyst Morningstar DBRS at between $100m and $300m, adding to a series of large losses for marine lines. Liability and salvage losses following the collision between MV Solong, a Portuguese-flagged cargo vessel, and MV Stena Immaculate, a tanker transporting jet fuel for the US military, are expected to exceed the cost of hull and cargo claims, even if both ships are declared a total loss, the analyst said.
“We estimate their combined [hull] insured value to be between $50m and $100m, which includes the potential costs of salvage operations,” Morningstar DBRS said. “We anticipate that most financial losses will fall under the protection & indemnity insurance policies because of the potential cleaning costs associated with any pollutant spill.” Owners for the Solong said it was not carrying sodium cyanide, as indicated in early reports, but empty containers that had once held the chemical.
“While the level of estimated losses resulting from this event is manageable for the global marine insurance industry, it raises concerns about the profitability of this business sector,” said Marcos Alvarez, managing director, global financial institution ratings at Morningstar DBRS.
The captain of the MV Solong has been arrested by UK authorities, on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, as a criminal investigation gets underway to establish the cause of the incident, which saw the Solong collide into the Stena Immaculate, at anchor off the eastern coast of England on 10 March. One crew member of the Solong remains unaccounted for and a search has been called off.
Both vessels sustained severe damage from the collision and fires that ignited on both vessels. Authorities said they are confident that the vessels will remain afloat, with 36 of 37 crew rescued following the incident. Morningstar DBRS said the outcome of a US government investigation to rule out sabotage “could have significant implications for the handling of any insurance claims related to the incident”.
Morningstar DBRS said it does not expect losses from the collision to materially affect the credit profile of marine insurers in 2025, already bruised from losses in 2024, including the collapse of the Baltimore Bridge after it was struck by container ship Dali and Red Sea attacks.
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