Concerns for wildlife following a collision between a tanker and a cargo ship near Humber estuary

Plastic pellets which can be a risk to wildlife have washed up on shore following the collision between a tanker and a container ship in the North Sea off the Humber Estuary, the coastguard has said.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it was informed by the RNLI on Sunday of a "sheen" in the sea just off The Wash, which has turned out to be "nurdles" - small pellets of plastic resin used in plastics production.

The agency said the pellets are likely to have entered the water at the point of the collision between the Stena Immaculate tanker and the container ship Solong, off the coast of East Yorkshire last Monday.

Chief coastguard Paddy O'Callaghan said on Monday that some of the nurdles have now been identified on the shore.

The nurdles, which are between 1-5mm in size and weigh less than a gram, are not toxic but they can present a risk to wildlife if ingested, the MCA said.

Mr O'Callaghan said: "Yesterday, the RNLI advised the MCA of a sighting in waters just off the Wash of a sheen that we now know to be plastic nurdles.

"This was confirmed by aerial surveillance flights and other assets have subsequently been deployed.

"Some nurdles have now also been identified on the shore.

"Retrieval has started today.

"This is a developing situation and the Transport Secretary continues to be updated regularly."

A week after the vessels collided, triggering an explosion and fires which burned for a number of days, they both remain in the North Sea, with the Stena Immaculate at anchor 12 miles off Withernsea, and the Solong about 20 miles further south, off Mablethorpe.

The Coastguard said salvage operations were continuing at both vessels.

The company managing the Stena Immaculate described at the weekend how the "heroic" crew of the US fuel tanker had triggered a crucial fire-fighting system before abandoning ship.

Thanks to their efforts, only one of the Stena Immaculate's cargo tanks containing jet fuel was damaged, Crowley, the maritime company said.

A salvage team has confirmed that 17,515 barrels of the 220,000 being carried have been lost, Crowley said.

"The coastguard position remains that there continues to be no cause for concern for pollution from the tanker," a statement added.

A total of 36 people were rescued from the ships following the collision but a sailor from the Solong is missing and presumed dead.

The Solong's captain, Vladimir Motin, 59, of Primorsky, St Petersburg, Russia, appeared at Hull Magistrates' Court on Saturday morning charged with gross negligence manslaughter and was remanded in custody.

He will appear at the Old Bailey on April 14.

Tammy Smalley, head of conservation at Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, said the charity was very concerned about nurdles and burnt material adrift in the sea and being washed ashore in the Wash and the Norfolk coast following the tanker collision last week.

She said if seabirds eat nurdles they can die from choking or starvation, adding: "At this time of the year there is also the risk that the birds return to their nests and feed the nurdles to their chicks.

"The plastic may also work its way up the food chain to larger marine mammals which feed on fish or smaller animals which have eaten nurdles."

She also said: "Nurdles are small plastic pellets and one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution at sea - once they're released into the waves they're very hard to clear up.

"We already have a huge problem with plastic pollution along the coast of the North Sea and our volunteers spend hours dealing with this laborious task."

She warned the risks posed by nurdles increased when other pollutants became stuck to them, and urged members of the public to report sightings but avoid touching the pellets as they may have toxic pollutants stuck to them.

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