Captain of cargo ship that collided with oil tanker and burst into flames identified as Russian national

The captain of the cargo ship that collided with a US oil tanker in the North Sea on Monday which caused a huge 'fire ball' has been identified.

At around 10am on Monday (March 10), a Portuguese-flagged container ship, MV Solong, reportedly crashed into the US-flagged Stena Immaculate just off the Yorkshire coast in the UK.

Now, the 59-year-old captain of the cargo ship has been arrested in connection with the incident and identified as a Russian national, the owner of the ship, Ernst Russ, has said today.

The MV Solong cargo ship in the North Sea which is reported to have crashed into the US tanker on Monday (Paul ELLIS / AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

A spokesperson for Ernst Russ reportedly told CNN that the arrested man is the captain of the Solong and claimed he is a Russian national.

Humberside Police confirmed yesterday (Tuesday, March 11) that the 59-year-old had been detained on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as a criminal investigation into the cause of the crash is launched.

Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson said in a statement: "Extensive work has already been carried out, and we are working closely with our partners to understand what happened, and to provide support to all of those affected.

"The man arrested remains in custody at this time whilst enquiries are under way, and we continue speaking with all those involved to establish the full circumstances of the incident."

The US vessel was carrying around 220,000 barrels of jet fuel and was believed to have been anchored at the time of the collision.

The crash some 10 miles away from land in the North Sea sparked a 'massive fire ball' and a major search and rescue operation where as many as 32 casualties were brought safely to shore.

One crew member currently remains unaccounted for which UK's maritime minister Mike Kane stated in the House of Commons is presumed dead.

The damaged Stena Immaculate tanker (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The RNLI reported at the time 'a number of people' had abandoned both burning vessels for the water while audio footage of the emergency calls indicated crew made the swift decision to abandon the ships.

In the call for help, a distressed caller said: “Solong collided with tanker Stena Immaculate. Both vessels are abandoning," as per The Sun.

“Vessels who have firefighting equipment or who can assist with search and rescue, contact Humber Coastguard on [radio] channel 16.

“Vessel Stena Immaculate is carrying Jet A1 fuel, which is on fire and in the water. Request vessels remain at a safe distance.”

There was a huge search and rescue mission after the crash (Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

As per The Telegraph, a UK government source said early investigations did not indicate any foul play but did not rule it out.

Mike Kane, the transport minister, said that while something went 'terribly wrong' when the cargo collided into the tanker, there was no evidence to suggest foul play 'at the moment.'

The US tanker was anchored off the Humber Estuary after having travelled from Greece while the MV Solong had departed Scotland for Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The high volume of jet fuel on the tanker has since sparked concerns for the environmental impact of the spill with fears the catastrophic collision could present irreversible ecological damage.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say that cleanups can 'never remove 100 percent' of oil spilled in the water while wildlife experts warn such large-scale oil spills contaminate marine ecosystems, harming birds, sea life and coastal habitats.