After that brief flurry of breaking news, we're also soon going to be hearing from the parliamentary under-secretary for the Department for Transport.

Mike Kane is scheduled to make a statement to the House of Commons on the collision of two vessels in the North Sea on Monday morning.

The session is expected to start shortly and we'll be providing updates on this page when it gets under way.

You can also follow along by pressing watch live at the top of this page.

We can now bring you a bit more from Ernst Russ, the firm responsible for the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship that collided with an oil tanker in the North Sea on Monday.

The firm says it is "actively engaged" with local authorities and will work with clean-up teams to "mitigate further impacts on the marine environment".

Since news of the collision, there have been fears from ecologists and marine experts on the wider impact of the North Sea tanker collision on the East Yorkshire coast's ecosystem.

Some more now from the coastguard's recent update.

At 23:20 GMT on Monday, the Solong separated from the Stena Immaculate and began to drift southwards, HM Coastguard says.

"This is being monitored...An exclusion zone of 1km radius has been put in place around both vessels."

The statement goes on to say that air quality at ground level is currently "within normal levels for the weather conditions".

The UK Health Security Agency (HSA) has advised that any public health risk on shore is currently deemed to be "very low".

We've just received a new statement from the coastguard which says that the cargo ship - the Solong - is "still alight".

The fire on board the oil tanker - the Stena Immaculate - has "greatly diminished", it adds.

"Safety vessels and other vessels with firefighting capabilities are still on scene with more arriving today," the statement reads.

We'll bring you more on this statement in the next few posts. Stick with us.

Jonathan Josephs
BBC business reporter

There were no containers on board the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship that were filled with sodium cyanide, the owner of the Solong says.

Ernst Russ, who owns the cargo ship involved in the tanker collision in the North Sea, adds in a statement that it "has been misreported" that the hazardous chemical was on board.

"There are four empty containers that have previously contained the hazardous chemical and these containers will continue to be monitored," the statement says.

In the same statement, the German firm went on to extend their sympathies to the missing crew member, saying: "Our first thoughts must be with them at this uncertain and distressing time."

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook describes the situation in the North Sea as "fast-moving" and "dynamic".

"Investigations are taking place as to the cause of the crash," he told BBC Breakfast a while ago, adding that both US and Portuguese authorities are leading the investigations with assistance from the UK.

The authorities are doing work to assess the potential environmental impact on the water, the housing minister said, but he stressed that the air quality levels are "within safe limits" as things currently stand.

When asked why the collision might have occurred, Pennycook said that he would not "add to speculation about the causes of the crash".

The US-flagged Stena Immaculate oil tanker was anchored at 09:48 GMT on Monday, according to ship tracking site MarineTraffic. This was its location in the moments before the collision.

The tanker had been anchored since 18:30 GMT on Sunday, while the Portuguese-flagged Solong cargo ship was approaching from the north after setting off from Grangemouth in Scotland the same evening.

The collision occurred at just before 10:00 GMT on Monday - with the Solong vessel approaching from the north at a speed of 16 knots.

A bit more now from the spokesperson for Boskalis, which has been appointed to salvage the oil tanker from the North Sea.

Martijn Schuttevaer tells the BBC that the two vessels - the Stena and the Solong - are now "disentangled" from one another.

This means that the salvage crews can begin to assess if the fires on board are out, he adds.

Schuttevaer told the BBC earlier that it was unclear if either ship was still burning. He now tells us that the two vessels separated from one another overnight, which will make the salvage "less complicated".

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor

There are two main threats to wildlife: the US military jet fuel being carried by the Stena Immaculate, and the 15 containers of sodium cyanide that might be on board the MV Solong.

Jet fuel is toxic and if ingested can kill marine organisms. There is also concern from wildlife organisations that if seabirds ingest these animals they may also be affected. It isn’t yet clear how much has leaked from the wreckage, but we know some has already been burnt off.

The scale of contamination will depend on natural conditions such as how quickly bacteria can break it down and the speed at which authorities contain it.

We won’t be able to assess the scale of the clean up operation required until we know how big a spill this is, though some press reports have suggested the impacts could last for weeks, even months, and could cost many millions of pounds to tackle.

It is also hard to assess the risks from the sodium cyanide because, once again, we don’t yet know if any of the 15 containers of sodium cyanide the MV Solong was potentially carrying have been ruptured, releasing the chemical into the water.

Sodium cyanide sounds fearsome but could disperse quite rapidly, say experts. The toxic white powder has a faint almond like odour. It can kill because it interferes with animals’ ability to respire – to use oxygen.

However, Andrea Sella, a chemistry professor at University College London, says because it is very soluble in water it should be diluted fairly quickly and then be metabolised by bacteria.

“That’s not to say it won’t kill local fish and shellfish," he tells the BBC. “But it won’t be blown by the wind or hang around for years.”

Malu Cursino
Live reporter

It's now more than 24 hours since the collision between an oil tanker and a cargo ship off the East Yorkshire coast was first reported.

Here's what we know - and don't know - about the incident that left the vessels burning and sent crews fleeing for the shore:

Which ships were involved? The US-flanked Stena Immaculate, which was carrying jet fuel for the American military, and the Portuguese-flagged Solong ship. There were reports yesterday that the Solong might be carrying sodium cyanide containers on board, but it is unclear if any of those containers spilled into the water.

How did they collide? Data from tracking site MarineTraffic appears to indicate that one ship was moving and the other was stationary when the collision happened. The Stena Immaculate was anchored at 09:48 GMT, while the Solong approached from the north at a speed of 16 knots.

Crowley - the company that manages the Stena Immaculate - said its ship was struck by the Solong while it was anchored.

How did crews escape? One sailor who was on board the US ship tells CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that flames were lapping at the crew as they moved onto the lifeboat, with some of his fellow sailors having singed hair due to how close they were to the flames.

Environmental impact: Since the collision, jet fuel stored in the Stena Immaculate has been pouring into the sea, sparking fears of an environmental disaster that threatens marine wildlife and the wider ecosystem off the East Yorkshire coast.

Kevin Shoesmith
BBC News

I've just been speaking with Martijn Schuttevaer - the spokesperson for Boskalis, which is the appointed salvage operator for the Stena Immaculate.

Schuttevaer tells me it is "premature" to say the fire [on the tanker] is out.

He adds that they are hoping to get close enough to the vessel later today to take temperature readings.

It is still unknown if the fire is out on the Solong, the Portugese-flagged container vessel that collided with the Stena on Monday morning.

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor

Image source, PA Media

Charities say they are on standby to treat any injured birds and animals that wash onshore in what some fear could be a huge threat to wildlife.

The Yorkshire coast is home to important colonies of seabirds including puffins, razorbills, gannets and kittiwakes. Many birds are gathering offshore ahead of the breeding season.

There are also significant numbers of Atlantic grey seals, many of which will be nurturing young pups, as well as dolphins and porpoises and of course, fish.

The MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes says it is not known what was in the cargo of the Solong ship, which was involved in a collision with the Stena Immaculate tanker on Monday morning.

Melanie Onn tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a government minister has said it is "undetermined" if sodium cyanide - which is highly soluble in water and can be toxic as it affects the uptake of oxygen - was on board.

"Actually, they don't know what is in the cargo for Solong. And if it were to be the sodium cyanide, that would be very worrying. So we are waiting for kind of continuous updates on that."

Onn adds that the Marine Accident Investigation Branch is currently on site providing direct reports back to the minister, and that the MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) is doing an evaluation of the contamination risk and working with the owners of both of the vessels to plan a salvage operation.

• For context: We reported yesterday that the cargo ship had been carrying 15 sodium cyanide containers, but it's currently unclear if they had the substance in them at the time of the collision

Phil McCann
Reporting from Grimsby

The docks here in Grimsby is where the 36 rescued members of crew were brought ashore after yesterday's collision. The BBC was able to speak to some of them, including one sailor, who was on board the Stena Immaculate (which was at anchor). He describes how the cargo vessel "came out of the blue".

CBS News, the BBC's US partner, has also spoken to one of the sailors on board who has given their own dramatic account, saying that "everybody had only seconds to react".

Now, attention turns to how on earth this could have happened - two very large ships colliding, with all the technology in place to prevent these kinds of incidents.

Another big question that's being looked at by investigators is whether the containers carrying toxic chemicals are still intact on the vessels.

The oil tanker was carrying jet fuel for US navy jets, and the container ship was carrying sodium cyanide containers, which is extremely toxic when it makes contact with water. We don't know at this point if it has made contact with water.

It's the responsibility of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in the UK to try to prevent pollution from spreading.

That agency has inflatable booms it can deploy to try to contain the pollution and planes that can fly overhead and drop dispersant on the pollution to try to break it up.

More now from the sailor who was on board the Stena Immaculate yesterday.

He tells CBS News, the BBC's US partner, how the flames immediately began erupting from the vessel following the collision. The crew, he adds, jumped to action, putting on protective gear to battle the blaze.

The American sailor speaks of the bravery of the crew, but says that after moments of fighting the inferno, they knew it was a lost cause.

The decision was made to abandon ship and once all the crew members had been accounted for, they left the vessel on a lifeboat, with the captain being the last person to disembark, the sailor says.

He says the flames were lapping at the crew as they moved onto the lifeboat and that some of the sailors even had singed hair, the flames were so close.

The whole incident from impact to evacuation lasted about 30 minutes, says the sailor, adding that the operation was "textbook".

He also says that the previous day they had anchored at that spot and relayed their coordinates - everyone should have known where they were.

We can now bring you more from the East Yorkshire coast, as the oil tanker is still afloat despite deluges of water still pouring out from it.

The amount of jet fuel released from the Stena Immaculate is not yet known. The US-registered ship was carrying cargo for the American military.

We're now getting some live aerial images from the scene of the tanker collision off the East Yorkshire coast.

Almost 24 hours since the collision, we can see one of the ships still stranded at sea, with deluges of water pouring out of its sides.

It appears to be the US-registered Stena Immaculate, which was carrying jet fuel for the US military.

We're now seeing live images of the two ships, which collided in the North Sea nearly 24 hours ago.

You can follow by pressing watch live above.

CBS News, the BBC's US partner, has spoken to an American sailor from the Stena Immaculate who describes his dramatic escape from the ship.

The sailor, who did not give his name as crew are not currently allowed to speak to the media, says he was near the impact when the collision happened.

All of a sudden, “a massive ship came from out of the blue," he says, adding that he only had seconds to react.

The sailor, who has years of experience at sea, describes hearing shouts to brace before the impact. He adds that the Solong didn’t immediately stop and that it drove into their ship for what seemed like 10 minutes.

Other crew members have described how it appeared nobody was on the bridge of the Solong at the moment of the crash, he says.

Matthew Schanck, founder of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, says maritime accidents like this often involve a human element - but it's too early to say the exact cause of Monday's collision.

He tells BBC Breakfast the two ships carry a voyage data recorder – similar to a black box for a plane – and investigators will need to download data from both boxes, which will record voices from the bridge at the time of the incident.

But he says it was "extremely concerning” that these ships collided at such a high speed for a cargo vessel and at the entrance to such a busy port.