An oil tanker and a container ship have collided in the North Sea, with fires reported on board both vessels.

The UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency has sent rescue helicopters, lifeboats and firefighting vessels to the scene and said it was assessing the “likely counter pollution response required”.

It was alerted to the incident off the coast of Humberside at 9.48am.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institute said a “number of people” were reported to have abandoned the ships following the collision.

Information from Marine Traffic, the vessel traffic information site, showed the oil tanker, the Stena Immaculate, and the container ship Solong sitting at right angles to each other in the North Sea.

Tracking information on the site suggested the Solong had ploughed into the Immaculate while the tanker was at anchor.

The Stena Immaculate is a US-flagged vessel. Its registered owner is Stena Bulk Marine Services, a company registered in Denmark.

Solong’s owner is listed shipping company Ernst Russ, based in Germany. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to Marine Traffic, the Stena Immaculate was carrying 15,900 tons of Jet A-1, a form of aviation fuel, from a refinery in Greece. According to Kpler, a data platform, the cargo is listed as being “clean products” that came from Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth and was destined for UK buyers, including BP, Ineos and Dupont.

Marine Traffic showed the Solong had departed the Humber Estuary port of Immingham and was sailing to Rotterdam.

The RNLI said one of the four lifeboats sent to the scene had been stood down by 11.40am, while three others “continued to support search and rescue efforts”.