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Troubled supertanker leaves Great Yarmouth port

Andrew Turnerin Great Yarmouth
The Stena Immaculate was struck on the port side by another ship, the Solong, while at anchor in the Humber Estuary

A supertanker that was badly damaged in a serious collision and brought to Norfolk has left port.

Stena Immaculate was struck on the port side by another ship called Solong, while at anchor in the North Sea off the Humber Estuary on 10 March.

The tanker was taken to Great Yarmouth's Outer Harbour in April for assessment by insurance loss adjusters.

The vessel is now being towed by tug to Malta.

Large fires damaged both vessels after the crash. The tanker was carrying kerosene and Solong held a containerised cargo of whisky and other goods.

In a statement earlier this week, Great Yarmouth port director Richard Goffin explained the harbour had "responsibility to provide safe havens for vessels".

News imageSupplied The Stena Immaculate rests on the North terminal of Great Yarmouth's outer harbour, with a tug at the bow. The hull is rusting and fire damaged following a collision in March off the Humber Estuary. Another tug is further towards the right of the image with quayside hardstanding in the foreground.Supplied
Tugs Craigleith and Sea Seraya were booked to leave Great Yarmouth with Stena Immaculate under tow

The master of Solong, Vladimir Motin, has denied manslaughter after one person died as a result of the crash in March.

While in Great Yarmouth, food from Stena Immaculate's galley was donated to a local food bank.

The vessel had been booked to depart on Monday, but bad weather forecasts pushed that date back to Wednesday and then Friday, again because of strong winds.

News imageAndrew Turner/BBC The significant hole in the side of the Stena Immaculate, at rest on the North terminal of Great Yarmouth's outer harbour. The hull is rusting and fire damaged following a collision in March off the Humber Estuary. The ship superstructure and bridge is visible to the right of the image. Quayside hardstanding is visible in the foreground.Andrew Turner/BBC
The impact of the collision by Solong left a large hole in the port side of Stena Immaculate which was badly damaged by the subsequent fire

The passage will see the vessel towed to Cockle Buoy, 1.5 miles east of Winterton-on-Sea.

It will then be towed by tug towards Falmouth in Cornwall, before departing for Valetta in Malta.

Stena Immaculate was a United States of America flagged vessel, carrying aviation fuel for the American military.

News imageQays Najm/BBC A drone image looks down on the red supertanker at anchor in a port, with equipment, machinery and materials on the land around it.Qays Najm/BBC
The supertanker will be next taken to Falmouth in Cornwall

On Tuesday, volunteers from Norfolk Wildlife Trust collected several bags of plastic "nurdles" from the beach at Holme-next-the-Sea.

The rice grain-sized pellets - much of which were burned and clumped together - were discharged into the sea during the incident.

Environmental groups have been clearing the nurdles since the collision and say the plastic could remain in the sea and on the Lincolnshire and Norfolk coast for many years.

News imageNorfolk Wildlife Trust A woman in dark clothing and a cap stands to the left of a beach buggy parked on sandy ground, with the tailgate of the vehicle open and showing bagged waste which has been gathered, and man in a grey t-shirt and jeans stands to the right with a wooden cladded building in the background.Norfolk Wildlife Trust
Volunteers from Norfolk Wildlife Trust cleared nurdles from the beach at Holme-next-the-Sea on Tuesday

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