GRIMSBY, England — In the lobby bar of the St. James Hotel, glum-looking sailors huddled around cups of tea (or something stronger). They were reliving the collision that days before had turned their two ships into floating infernos, killed one of their colleagues and led to charges of gross negligence manslaughter for one of the captains.
Hovering nearby — and to be found in hotel bars throughout this small port town on England’s northeast coast — were shirt-sleeved company counsels, union lawyers, salvagers and government investigators, all preparing for battle over who should pay for one of the worst maritime accidents in recent British history.
At the heart of the matter is why, last Monday, the cargo ship Solong drove smack into the Stena Immaculate, a tanker carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel.
The American, Russian and Filipino crew were evacuated to Grimsby. Then, not allowed to go home to recover, they spent the rest of last week being interviewed by police and government investigators.
