I call the shadow Minister.

I call the Chair of the Transport Committee.

I endorse the Minister’s thanks to the frontline workers who have been involved, and his concern for and condolences to the missing mariner’s family.

While we wait for the reports on how this appalling tragedy happened, which will have to be done, will the Minister confirm how routes are being managed while the Solong is drifting, and whether further protection of routes will be needed because of pollution in order not to delay further movement of shipping in these busy waters and to protect the welfare of seafarers in other ships?

I thank the Chair of the Transport Committee for that question. It is an incredibly busy sea highway, as we all know.

I had the great honour of visiting the command and control post of the Humber estuary on what was almost my last visit as shadow Maritime Minister just before the general election, and I pay tribute to the workers there for their hard work in dealing with this situation.

I want to assure the Chair of the Transport Committee that the Immaculate was anchored; it is the Solong that is drifting. There is a 1,000-metre exclusion zone around both vessels. Other assets are currently allowed to traverse the Humber estuary.

If that changes, I will make that information available during the day.

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

I join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to maritime workers. Just as they kept us fed, fuelled and supplied all the way through covid, they keep our nation fed, fuelled and supplied every day of every week. I cannot commend them highly enough.

I also join with him in paying tribute to the emergency services. This is difficult, hard work and they are doing an exceptional job in the circumstances. As I have said, the MCA is standing by with marine and aerial counter-pollution measures in place.

Once we get the fire on the Solong out, we will begin to assess the situation and deploy them. It is vital that we keep shipping lanes in the Humber estuary open as best we can as this continues, which is why we have placed a 1,000-metre exclusion zone around both ships.

Outside that, maritime vessels can operate normally—as normally as is possible in this circumstance.

I thank the Minister for his communication with me through this unfolding situation and everybody who has been involved in it.

The situation is evolving minute by minute, and I pay tribute to the local RNLI, coastguard and emergency services for their rapid rescue response, and to the local community, who have been heavily involved in readying themselves for any potential ecological or environmental fallout from this incident.

As the Minister may be aware, Ernst Russ, which owns the Solong, has now put out a statement saying that it has been “misreported” that the hazardous chemical was on board the Solong, and that “There are four empty containers that have previously contained the hazardous chemical,” which it will continue to monitor.

I wonder whether the Minister has had any success in tracking down the manifest for the Solong so that we can reassure my constituents and put their minds at ease as to exactly what was on that vessel.

I would also like to know when the Minister is expecting the initial report from the marine accident investigation branch so that we can understand what on earth happened in this most extraordinary of events.

I join the Minister in saluting the heroic rescuers and mourning the loss of the seaman. Mr Speaker, you may share some of my frustration at the lack of communication with Members of this House regarding yesterday’s maritime disaster off the Holderness coast in my constituency.

Apart from a brief phone call following my reaching out to the Secretary of State for Transport, I spoke to the leader of East Riding of Yorkshire council, the police and crime commissioner and local councillors.

All were struggling to get information as to what was going on just miles off the coast. My constituents from Kilsney, Easington, Withernsea, Aldborough and beyond deserve better. I must ask the Minister why it took so long for the local resilience forum to be set up.

Is he confident that we have the proper structures of governance in place when a disaster such as this happens? How can we ensure that communications are improved? What work is being done to protect the puffins, wildlife and beaches in our area?

And how can we ensure that the agencies responsible are held to account? Perhaps the Minister can comment on why he was missing in action yesterday.

We would have loved to have heard not just from 24-hour rolling media but from a member of our own elected Government about what was happening with this terrible disaster.

Mr Speaker, I was dealing with the situation—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] The Secretary of State made a statement. We stood up the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and, within minutes, a response was ongoing. The right hon.

Member had a call from a member of staff of the Secretary of State within an hour or two of the incident. He was kept fully informed. The local Humberside resilience forum was established. We deployed assets for marine protection at the site.

I am not sure what he is asking for, but I am very proud of our agencies—both local and national—that have worked at pace to get us to where we are currently.

I welcome the Minister’s timely statement and would like to associate myself with his praise for the swift response of the emergency services and the RNLI volunteers.

Over recent years, fishermen along the east coast of Yorkshire, including Scarborough and Whitby, have battled to keep going against the background of the effects of the crustacean die-off. They are naturally extremely concerned by reports of jet fuel possibly leaking into the sea.

I do appreciate that this is a fast-moving situation, but can my hon. Friend tell the House more about the counter-pollution measures that are in place and also how predicted weather conditions will affect the ongoing operation?

I have been in communication with Liberal Democrat councillors in the East Riding of Yorkshire and also the Liberal Democrat administration in Hull.

Yesterday, the leader of the council, Mike Ross, raised the call for a rapid response from Government, and I really push the Minister to provide clarity on what exactly we should be seeing from a tactical co-ordination group and whether there is Government commitment to cover any environmental or economic impact.

Moreover, what more support will we see down the line if there are long-term consequences as a result of the pollution?

It is standard procedure to bring on board local resilience forums in any situation such as this. That has been done: the forum is up and running.

I am grateful to all elected Members across the parties and hard-working councillors who will be involved in making sure that the best interests of the people of the Humber region are protected.

We have currently deployed on site all the resources that are needed to contain the fire and to assess the environmental damage of any spillage. We will continue to make decisions in conjunction with the local resilience forum through the day and, I believe, for the rest of the week.

I wish to add my voice to the call made by my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume) given the very perilous position of the Teesside and North Yorkshire marine ecosystem following the environmental disaster we suffered in 2021.

I ask the Minister to ensure that the response is not only around the Humber estuary, but that he reviews the environmental impact for the entire east coast as well.

As I have said, the MCA’s counter-pollution assets are being deployed at the scene. The RNLI, search and rescue and aviation have all been on site, although search and rescue has been stood down. Both vessels were also carrying marine heavy fuel oil.

That is a present pollution risk should either vessel sink or break apart.

I thank the Minister for his statement today and echo his comments about the missing sailor. I also add my thanks to all those who have been involved in the rescue operation, particularly those at the RNLI station in Bridlington.

My constituents are rightly concerned about the potential environmental and ecological impact, not least because we have the biggest bird colony in mainland Britain, Bempton and Flamborough in Bridlington have the largest shellfish landing port in the UK, and we have around 5 million visitors to the area every year, enjoying the beaches from Bridlington down to Hornsea.

Has the Minister yet had any assessment of the direction of any potential pollution and the role that currents and wind direction will play in where that pollution might eventually end up?

The hon. Member is right to raise that. I had a conversation late last night on that subject with the Minister responsible for nature, my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh).

The Met Office has told us that theoretical models are used to plot potential movement of the smoke plume, which is similar to the way that it forecasts weather. Air quality monitoring can be done by onshore monitoring stations, such as the one at Immingham, which is closest to the site.

The immediate concern is to stop the fire so that we can assess the pollution. As soon as the fire is out, inspectors can move nearer or move in to assess the extent of the spill—if there is a spill—and then we can begin to deploy the relevant resources to tackle that spill.

My constituency is on the north-east coast, probably about 150 miles from this horrendous disaster. Can the Minister say whether there has been an initial assessment on how it happened and where the pollution might move to? Is there a potential threat to the coastline of the north-east of England?

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. As I have said, the Met Office is modelling the wind situation at the moment. We need to get the fire out on the Solong.

Once that is done, we can make a further assessment of what is required and in which direction any pollution—if there is any—is moving, and we will deploy our assets to tackle that when we know that for sure.

It is just over 32 years now since the MV Braer was grounded off Shetland, but for us the memories are still very fresh. We know exactly how those communities on the east coast of England who are braced for what may be coming will feel.

We might not know what happened, but we can be pretty certain that at some time, somewhere, something of this sort was going to happen, such is the nature of shipping and how it is regulated and owned across the world.

In Shetland we have been warning for years of the dangers of tankers anchored right by our shoreline and of others entering areas that are marked on the chart as to be avoided, but it is next to impossible to get any agency to take ownership of that.

I know that the Minister is concerned about this, so can we use this moment to take a serious look at how we protect our coastal and island communities?

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his expertise in this area. He has raised with me the issue of tankers moored off Shetland and Orkney. I understand that the 1972 collision regulations state that there has to be proper sight and sound lookout and all other methods, so something has gone wrong.

As difficult as it is to say, accidents always provide an opportunity to see how we can do things better. I hope that when the marine accident investigation branch comes back with both its initial and its substantive findings, which will come to my desk, we can learn the lessons of this accident.

The hon. Member has the Port of Immingham in his constituency, where the Immaculate was waiting to unload its cargo when a berth came available. I can assure him that the MCA is on stand-by. It has marine and aerial logistics in place to assess any potential pollution spill.

If there is one, we will tackle it, but as I said, the priority is to extinguish the fire on the Solong .

I thank the Minister for his statement. We congratulate everyone involved. It is worth remembering the voluntary nature of so many of the emergency services and the RNLI.

The volunteers from the RNLI Skegness rushed out of their homes and businesses to man the lifeboat, which was away for almost 11 hours, putting themselves in harm’s way with extraordinary bravery. We should never forget that.

The hon. Member should brace himself for what I am about to say: he acted with honour this weekend, relating to my circumstances, with his former party member, and I am grateful to him. He is exactly right.

Our emergency services are second to none, as are our volunteers who help His Majesty’s Coastguard and the RNLI. These men and women risked their lives braving the seas, the winds, the temperature and the fog, to go and do what they could at the scene yesterday.

I have nothing but the highest praise for them.

My constituency has the Norfolk coast area of outstanding natural beauty and other vital habitats, including the Wash, as well as a fishing fleet. Given the location of the collision, there is local concern about the potential impact.

When will a risk assessment be done on the potential risk of pollution down the east coast to Norfolk? What action is being taken to contain it? Will the Minister commit to keeping the public informed?

MCA assets are being deployed currently to assess and monitor any potential environmental impacts of this accident. The hon. Gentleman is right that the area is richly biodiverse. The priority remains extinguishing the fire on the Solong, so that we can properly evaluate the situation.

Once we get that done, we will use every resource possible to ascertain the extent of the pollution, and to clear it up.

The hon. Member makes an important point about how interconnected our coastal communities are when it comes to this type of incident. Our officials are monitoring where the pollution is going; we are looking at wind direction.

I am grateful for the fact that his local resilience team is stood up, and I am happy to keep all Members informed of the ongoing situation, when required.

Automatic identification systems and radar should mean that these sorts of things do not happen, even in dense fog, which is why many of us thought initially that this could well be a maritime 9/11-type event, or that a malign state actor could be involved.

Fortunately, that appears not to be the case, but the event has exposed a vulnerability, and ships like the Stena Immaculate could be said to be sitting ducks. What audit will the Minister do of that vulnerability? Will he put in place what is practically necessary to prevent such occurrences?

The right hon. Gentleman asks a very good question. In addition to having maritime responsibilities, I am the security Minister for the Department of Transport. We will learn any maritime security lessons from this incident, in terms of malign actors, and we will implement any recommendations.

Has the Minister been in contact with the Scottish Government, notably about the Solong’s port of origin? Clearly, it is in significant danger of sinking, and has containers on board.

If any of those containers break loose and get washed up on shore, widespread and firm public information about the dangers of approaching any containers will be vital, given the hazardous substances in some of them.

Responsibility for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is reserved to me, and it covers the United Kingdom. I hope that that answers the hon. Gentleman’s first question.

On his second question, I do not want to speculate on the cargo of the Solong until I have the facts confirmed by officials, and I will then let the House know appropriately.

I thank the Minister for the clarity of his statement and his answers. Is it not extraordinary that there is such uncertainty about whether so deadly a cargo as sodium cyanide was being carried on one of the vessels?

He said that tugs might have to intervene to prevent the vessel running aground on the shores of this country. Has he considered that if the fire is too dangerous for the tugs to approach, then in those extreme circumstances, the Royal Navy’s involvement might be necessary?

I too pay tribute to everyone involved in the emergency response. Does the Minister share my deep concern that more than 24 hours after this collision, we still do not know what the cargo was on the MV Solong? Surely the insurance industry ought to know that, at the very least.

On the pollution, I understand that this incident may have taken place in or close to two marine protected areas. Are those areas affected? What is the plan for cleaning them up?

The Minister mentioned that pollution measures are in waiting, but have not been implemented, because the priority is reducing the fire, but I understand that the Stena Immaculate—the one with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of fuel oil—is no longer burning.

What measures are being taken to tackle the pollution now? Speed is of the essence.

I think the incident started at about 10 minutes to 10 yesterday, so we are only about 27 hours in. Within minutes, assets were stood up and the crews were brought safely home, except for one member of the Solong.

We have assets in place to measure the pollution now, and those assets are being deployed where that is safe, but the priority remains getting the fire out on the Solong.

Several hon. Members have mentioned the effects on the marine environment, including endangered bird species such as puffins and kittiwakes, which are returning to colonies right now in places like the Isle of May in my constituency.

What engagement is the Minister having with the charities and organisations who run those colonies? Secondly, following the question from the hon.

Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey (Graham Leadbitter) about the Scottish Government, if, as we fear, we see the worst- case scenario of pollution extending extensively, are there any plans for engagement between the Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency?

The environment is absolutely at the front of our mind. Once we get the fire out, we will make those impact assessments and take the appropriate measures to clean up pollution, if there is any. The Department is working across Government and with the local resilience forums.

In the days ahead, once we have the impact assessments, we will liaise with partner agencies on the best way forward on bird, marine and fish protection and the environment.

We are in discussions with the owners of both vessels. We know that the Solong was sailing from Grangemouth, and that it had a mixed cargo of containers. That is the only information available to me, and that information is being analysed. We are trying to ascertain more.

I do not have information for the House at the moment, but as soon as I do, we will make it known. As I said, the Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of A-1 jet fuel. We can begin to prepare contingency plans with the information that we already have about the vessel.

I thank the Minister for his full statement, and I associate myself with remarks made about the potential loss of life and the communities affected.

I understand that the priority is dealing with the immediate incident, and that there will be a full investigation by the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch in due course.

Given that the Royal Navy has deployed vessels to the North sea to monitor hostile states’ activities on and under the sea, will the Minister assure us that the Government and their agencies will undertake an assessment, so that we can be clear that there has been no foreign interference in this terrible accident?

The answer is yes. The Ministry of Defence contacted me last night to say that it was ready and willing to be deployed, if required. So far, that has not been required, because we feel that there was no malign intent in this incident. However, as the hon.

Member said, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch will investigate and give me its initial findings as soon as humanly possible. I will read its final report—it is my duty to do so as maritime Minister—and we will take the matter from there. The hon. Member was right to raise that point.

I thank all those who have responded; we owe them a debt. I also thank the Minister for his endeavours. I spoke to him yesterday about this. He has been assiduous and focused, and we in the House should put on record our thanks to him for all that he has done.

Will he outline the steps that will be taken to investigate whether failings in visual observation, radar or the automated identification system led to this unexpected collision?

How can we ensure that the long-term environmental effects of this devastating collision are dealt with in a co-ordinated manner?

I thank the hon. Member. May I update the House? No sign of pollution from the vessels is observed at this time. Monitoring is in place, and should the situation change, the assets in place will be used as needed. That is the latest information relayed to me. The hon.

Gentleman’s question is a matter for the Marine Accident Investigation Branch. We have extraordinarily dedicated officials on site; they were deployed yesterday. They will survey the two vessels and report back to me with initial findings when they can.

There will be a final report for sign-off on my desk at some stage. I am grateful for his support.