The 36 crew members of both vessels have been evacuated to port, none have had to be hospitalized. Two ships, a tanker and a cargo ship, collided on Monday in the North Sea off the coast of East Yorkshire.

A port official said he was told the North Sea collision produced "a massive fireball" and the cargo ship's owner said one crew member was missing.

A large tanker has released jet fuel into the sea near crucial seal and seabird breeding spots, say local marine ecologists.