Cargo ships on a cargo ship colliding in the North Sea near the England coast caught fire on two ships

Officials said a tanker carrying jet fuel impacted on Monday, and a cargo ship attack on England's eastern coast triggered multiple explosions that caught both ships and radiated fuel and poured into the water. A British port owner said he was told about the “fire” after the collision.

Hours after the collision, the cargo ship's owner said a crew member was missing. Efforts to find missing crew members are underway, a statement from Germany's Ernst Russ.

Earlier, local MP Graham Stuart said British Transport Minister Heidi Alexander told him that 37 crew members were crew members on both ships and another 36 crew members were safe and responsible.

Where did the ships collided in the North Sea?

Crowley Maritime, which operates the U.S.-flagged chemical and oil product MV Stena Immaculate, said the tanker was fixed in the North Sea on the coast of Hull, about 155 miles north of London, when it was hit by Portugal's container ship Solong.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said the details of the collision and its cause “still becoming clear”. Abdul Khalique, head of the Maritime Centre at Liverpool John Morse University, said it appears that the crew of the cargo ship did not “maintain proper surveillance of the radar” as required by international maritime regulations.

According to the Site Fesselfinder of the ship tracking, Stena Immaculate is at an anchor near the port of Grimsby. Zoro is sailing from Grangemouth, Scotland to Rotterdam, Netherlands. According to the BBC, from Agio Theodoroi in Greece to the UK killed Hillingholme

The BBC reported that it is one of only 10 tankers in the U.S. government plan to fuel the armed forces in an armed conflict or national emergency. Crowley said a cargo tank on the ship with jet fuel broke, leaked, and the fire broke out.

“After several explosions on board, Stener's perfect crew gave up the ship,” Crowley said. “All Crowley sailors were safe and well-considered.”

The company said it is working with authorities to curb the fire and secure the ships.

Stewart said he was concerned about the “potential ecological impact” of the leak, which is being investigated by the British Marine Accident Investigation Agency.

Meanwhile, Lloyd, a commercial information service, said the cargo ship carries 15 containers of chemical sodium thio. It is not clear whether any containers are damaged.

Charlie D'Agata, senior national security correspondent of CBS News, reported that a U.S. official confirmed Stena Immaculate was carrying cargo to support the Department of Defense. The official said the collision would not affect operations or combat preparations.

Martyn Boyers, CEO of Port Grimsby East, said 13 casualties were caused on the Windcat 33 highway, followed by another 19 on the port pilot ship. He said he was told the Fireball after the collision.

“For us, it's too far – about 10 miles – but we've seen these ships bring them in,” he said. “They must have sent a Mayday.”

Erik Hanell, CEO of Stena Bulk, co-owner of Stena Impaculate, told BBC News that the ship's crew consists of more than 20 people.

The British Maritime and Coast Guard said the alarm was filed at 9:48 a.m. local time (5:48 a.m. ET).

Several lifeboats and a Coast Guard rescue helicopter were sent to the scene in the North Sea, as well as a Coast Guard and nearby fire-capable ships, the Coast Guard said.

“There are reports that many people abandoned their ships after the collision and there was a fire on both ships,” the Royal National Lifeboat Agency said. It said three lifeboats were working on a search and rescue at the scene with the Coast Guard.

Videotapes aired by BBC News and apparently shot on a nearby ship showed thick smoke pouring into both ships.

Greenpeace said it felt “very concerned” to the collision, which took place in a busy fishing site near the main seabird colony.

“With more information on the ships carrying more information, we are very concerned about the many toxic hazards that these chemicals may constitute marine life,” said Paul Johnston, a senior scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratory at the University of Exeter.

Scientists say the environmental impact may not be as severe as the spillover of crude oil.

“Although the image looks worrying from the perspective of the impact on the aquatic environment, like crude oil, this is not concerned because most jet fuels will evaporate very quickly,” said Mark Hartl of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology, Herriotwatt University in Scotland.

Mark Sephton, professor of organic geochemistry at Imperial College London, said jet fuel collapses faster than crude oil, and is also accelerating the rate of biodegradation.

“In the end, it all depends on the speed of fuel introduction and the rate of bacterial damage,” he said. “Hopefully the latter will win.”

Contributed to this report.