Ship and tanker in North Sea crash had no lookouts, report finds

An oil tanker and cargo ship that crashed in the North Sea did not have "dedicated lookouts" in what were "patchy conditions", an interim report has found.

The Stena Immaculate, a US-registered tanker, was anchored 16 miles (26 km) off the East Yorkshire coast when it was hit by the Portuguese-flagged Solong on 10 March.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch also released new images of the incident, which resulted in fires and a rescue operation which saved 36 crew from both vessels.

One crew member on the Solong, Mark Pernia, is missing and presumed dead. He was reported to be in the forward area of the ship at the time of impact.

The report said the Solong had left Grangemouth in Scotland by 20:00 GMT the day before the crash and was heading to Rotterdam using a route it had previously used.

The Stena Immaculate was anchored five miles north of the Humber light float after being told to be two miles clear of any pipeline. The Solong collided with the oil tanker at a speed of about 16 knots (18mph) at 09:47 GMT.

"The visibility in the area north of the Humber light float was reported to be patchy and varying between 0.25 nautical miles (nm) and 2.0nm," the report said.