Plastic ‘nurdles’ washed up after North Sea ship collision

Tiny plastic pellets found washed up on England’s east coast are likely to have come from a collision involving an oil tanker and a cargo ship a week ago, the coastguard has said.

The Stena Immaculate and cargo ship Solong collided in the North Sea, off East Yorkshire, on Monday, triggering an explosion and fires.

Chief coastguard Paddy O’Callaghan said they were told on Sunday there had been a sighting in waters off the Wash of a “sheen that we now know to be plastic nurdles” and a team was clearing them.

Nurdles are balls of plastic resin used in plastics production. They are not toxic but can present a risk to wildlife if ingested, according to HM Coastguard.

One crew member of the Solong is missing and presumed dead. The captain of the cargo vessel has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

Mr O’Callaghan said aerial surveillance had confirmed the presence of the nurdles in the water and some on the shore.

“Retrieval has started today,” he said.

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

Calum Duncan, head of policy and advocacy at the Marine Conservation Society, said: “We’re deeply concerned about nurdles washing up along the Wash, a vital internationally important protected area for birds like waders, wildfowl, gulls and terns.”

He said the pellets posed “a significant threat to marine life”.

“Fish and seabirds could mistake them for food, leading to starvation and serious health issues,” said Mr Duncan.

The Wash, where pellets have been spotted, is a large inlet of the North Sea which stretches from just south of Skegness, in Lincolnshire, to a point near Hunstanton, in Norfolk.

In a joint statement, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and Norfolk Wildlife Trust said they were “very concerned” about the pollution.

“Unfortunately, the risks posed by nurdles increase when other pollutants become stuck to them,” Tammy Smalley, of the Lincolnshire trust, said.

“We urge members of the public to report nurdle sightings but to avoid touching them as they may have toxic pollutants stuck to them.”

HM Coastguard said “salvage operations” in respect of both the Solong and the Stena Immaculate were ongoing.

The agency said it was likely the nurdles entered the water at the point of collision, but did not disclose where they had been washed up and in what quantity.

It is not yet known whether the fire on the Solong was completely out. HM Coastguard said it would not be commenting further.

On Friday, Mr O’Callaghan said there were “only small periodic pockets of fire” on the cargo vessel, which were “not causing undue concern”.

The BBC understands it is likely the oil tanker, carrying 220,000 barrels of aviation fuel for the US military, will soon be towed to Saltend, near Hull, where its remaining fuel will be offloaded before being taken to a location, outside of the Humber and likely to be Newcastle, for repairs.

Crowley, co-owners of the tanker, said a salvage team confirmed 17,515 barrels of the jet fuel had been lost “due to the impact and fire”.

Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, was named by the Crown Prosecution Service as the crew member who was missing and presumed dead.

Vladimir Motin, captain of the Solong, appeared at Hull Magistrates’ Court on Saturday charged with gross negligence manslaughter and was remanded in custody to appear before the Central Criminal Court in London on 14 April.

Previously, HM Coastguard said 36 people had been rescued and taken safely to shore.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is trying to establish the cause of the crash.

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