The tanker that was hit at anchor off the coast of England in the North Sea was under contract by Military Sealift Command in support of the Defense Logistics Agency, USNI News has learned.
The U.S.-flagged MV Stena Immaculate was at anchor when Portugeuse-flagged container ship MV Solong struck the tanker at about 5:48 a.m. EDT, according to the United Kingdom’s HM Coast Guard. Solong hit the tanker at 16 knots and ruptured a tank on Stena Immaculate that contained jet fuel, resulting in “multiple explosions,” according to Stena Immaculate‘s owner, the U.S.-based Crowley Maritime.
The combined 37 mariners of both ships were evacuated with one in the hospital, a local member of parliament told The Guardian.
Stena Immaculate was on a 70-day contract with Military Sealift Command carrying fuel on behalf of the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, the Pentagon entity that manages fuel for the military, an MSC spokesperson confirmed to USNI News on Monday.
“The collision and ensuing explosions will not impact operations or combat readiness. We do not have a single point of failure,” a U.S. official told Reuters.
The tanker was not directly supporting underway U.S. ships or aircraft, the MSC spokesperson told USNI News.
Stena Immaculate is part of the Maritime Administration’s Tanker Security Program, which identifies 10 U.S.-flagged tankers to support U.S. military operations during “armed conflict or national emergency,” according to MARAD.
DLA Energy, one of the six subcommands of DLA, provides energy for the Defense Department, the armed services and other federal agencies, according to the the agency’s website.
“The major fuels DLA Energy procures are JP5, a high flash jet fuel used shipboard by the Navy; JP8, a kerosene-based jet fuel comparable to commercial jet fuel; Jet A1, a commercial jet fuel with additive; and F76, a naval diesel fuel,” reads the site.
DLA Energy was involved in the distribution of the fuel pumped from the Red Hill fuel depot in Hawaii after a fuel spill contaminated the water aquifer below the facility.
