Investigators will look into reports deck of cargo ship Solong was unmanned when the catastrophe took place

In the North Sea, about 12 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire, the smouldering wreck of a 183-metre tanker is being kept in place by tugboats.

The central part of the vessel has been caved in, with water gushing from a hole in its side. Sections are covered in black soot, evidence of the raging blaze that engulfed the ship when it was struck by a smaller cargo ship on Monday morning, with the flames from multiple explosions only just dying down on Tuesday afternoon.