The captain of the Solong cargo ship who was arrested after crashing into an oil tanker off the English coast is a Russian national, the vessel’s owner said Wednesday, as maritime experts search for answers.

The fire on an oil tanker involved in the crash in the North Sea has finally gone out, several days after it collided with a container ship near the Humber Estuary. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

On Monday morning, about 13 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire, the Solong sailed into the US-registered tanker Stena Immaculate, which was carrying fuel for the US Navy. Fires broke out on board both vessels,

The captain of the container ship Solong, which crashed with another ship in the North Sea, is a Russian national, it has emerged.

Ernst Russ, which owns Solong, confirmed the vessel’s captain had been arrested by Humberside Police on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after a crew member was presumed dead when a search-and-rescue operation was ended on Monday evening.

Fears of an environmental disaster eased on Wednesday, two days after a container ship ploughed into a stationary U.S. fuel tanker off northeast England, as the vessel's owner said the detained captain was a Russian national.

The captain arrested in a crash into a U.S. flagged tanker off the coast of England is a Russian national, the owner of the vessel said on Wednesday.

The captain of the cargo ship Solong, which collided with the tanker Stena Immaculate in the North Sea on Monday, has been arrested. He is a Russian citizen. The 59-year-old Russian man has been charged with gross negligence leading to death.