London — An American man who mentioned he was among the many crew on the MV Stena Immaculate tanker when it was hit Monday by a cargo ship, inflicting each vessels to burst into flames off England’s east coast, informed CBS Information the opposite ship “got here from out of the blue” and rammed the Stena.
The person, who requested to stay nameless as a result of he wasn’t permitted to talk with media in regards to the crash, mentioned the Stena had been anchored on the spot the place the collision occurred and had relayed its coordinates, which means all different vessels within the space ought to have identified its place.
He mentioned was close to to the a part of the Stena Immaculate the place the Portugal-flagged container ship Solong made its influence, and that he had solely seconds to react when he heard shouts to brace earlier than influence. Then, abruptly, he mentioned “an enormous ship got here from out of the blue.”
Bartek Śmiałek by way of AP
The person mentioned the Solong did not instantly cease after smashing into the Stena, and that it felt prefer it continued to drive into the ship for about 10 minutes after the preliminary influence. The person mentioned different crew members on the Stena, which was apparently carrying jet gas for the U.S. navy, described the way it appeared as if no person was on the bridge of the Solong for the time being of the crash.
Flames erupted from the Stena and the crew instantly jumped into motion, the person mentioned. He mentioned they placed on protecting gear and tried to struggle the hearth, however shortly decided it would not be attainable and determined to desert ship.
Crew members went to their rooms to collect important belongings, additionally grabbing life jackets and emergency gear. They then went to the mustering level and sounded off. When all had been accounted for, they entered the lifeboat, and mustered once more. When it was verified that everybody was onboard the lifeboat, they launched. The captain was the final particular person to go away the Stena, he mentioned.
Yann Schreiber and Paz Pizarro/AFP/Getty
The person described flames lapping on the crew as they boarded the lifeboat, and mentioned a number of the sailors even had singed hair as a result of the hearth was so shut. He mentioned they could not have waited any longer to get off the vessel, and the entire incident from influence to evacuation lasted about half-hour.
The person mentioned the crew had been skilled for disasters like this, and that all the pieces from the second of influence to the evacuation had been “textbook” and carried out based on process.
A U.S. official confirmed to CBS Information nationwide protection correspondent Charlie D’Agata on Monday that the Stena was carrying cargo in help of the U.S. Division of Protection, however they mentioned the incident wouldn’t influence U.S. navy operations or fight readiness.
