The captain of the Solong cargo ship who was arrested after crashing into an oil tanker off the coast of England is a Russian national, the ship’s owner Ernst Russ said Wednesday.

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.

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.