A Seafrontier tanker, carrying 38,000 tonnes of petrol to Guatemala, collided with the Huayan Endeavor, which was on its way from the Netherlands to Nigeria.
Both ships are Hong King-flagged and were carrying around 50 crew members from China and India at the time.
The collision happed at around 2am in the Dover Strait, around 20 miles from Dunkirk.
“Although both vessels have been damaged, there is no water ingress and no pollution,” a spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said.
“A French tug is on scene with the vessels. There are no injuries and all of the crew are accounted for.”
A British Coastguard helicopter and lifeboats from Dover and Ramsgate were sent to the scene, in case of a possible evacuation, but have since left.
The UK’s Channel Navigation Information Service is working to ensure “safe passage” of vessels through the Dover Strait, which is the busiest shipping lane in the world.
The MCA’s counter-pollution team and surveyors are working on the incident and a Government representative is monitoring the situation.
The Seafrontier is expected to sail to a Belgian or Dutch port to make repairs, while the Huayan Endeavor could dock in the UK.
Oil tanker and large cargo ship collide between France and UK
02 July 2017
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An oil tanker and cargo ship have collided in the English Channel, AzVision.az reports citing the Independent.
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