The Prime Minister says 'we must get to the bottom of' how the North Sea collision happened

Sir Keir Starmer has said "we have to get to the bottom" of how the North Sea collision happened.

He said the situation was "reasonably contained" in the aftermath of the crash involving the Solong cargo ship and the Stena Immaculate tanker.

The Prime Minister said: "We're obviously monitoring it all of the time. In terms of the cause of it, that's yet to be determined.

"There's a process now in place .... with an arrest. But we have to get to the bottom of it.

"But the immediate thing is to deal with the problem in front of us, which is the aftermath of the collision.

"I'd just like to acknowledge the good work of those that are actually out there doing really hard work in very difficult circumstances, which they did not expect to be in. I pay tribute to them."

Pressed on calls for a Cobra meeting to assess the potential environmental damage, he said: "We are absolutely monitoring this 24/7 and I've got teams doing that and assuring me of what's going on.

"At the moment, the situation is reasonably contained. And, obviously, we will do whatever is necessary."

Meanwhile a fire on an oil tanker, involved in a crash off the Humber Estuary has gone out - several days after the collision.

In an update overnight, the maritime company managing the Stena Immaculate said there was "no visible signs of smoke or flame".

Chief Coastguard Paddy O’Callaghan said:

“The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), working with other partners, continues to support the joint response to the collision between the SOLONG and the STENA IMMACULATE.

“The STENA IMMACULATE remains at anchor. The SOLONG continues to be held in a safe location by tug. Small pockets of fire are still reported to be on the top deck of MV SOLONG and specialist vessels are supporting the firefighting efforts. Salvors will only board the vessels when it is safe to do so.

“Aerial surveillance flights will continue today to monitor the vessels.

“HM Coastguard’s Counter Pollution and Salvage team has a comprehensive counter pollution response in place should it be required."

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