Captain guilty of North Sea tanker crash death

The captain of a cargo ship that collided with a tanker in the North Sea has been found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.

Vladimir Motin was the only person on watch duty on the Solong when it hit US tanker Stena Immaculate off the East Yorkshire coast on 10 March 2025, leaving Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, a crew member on the Solong, missing presumed dead.

A trial at the Old Bailey in London heard Motin did not keep a proper lookout and did not use all available means to determine the risk of a collision, or leave enough time to take evasive action.

Motin, 59, from St Petersburg, Russia, is due to be sentenced on Thursday.

After deliberating for more than eight hours, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.

Motin appeared emotionless as it was read out and was remanded back into custody.

Prosecutor Tom Little KC told jurors Pernia's wife had been about seven months pregnant at the time of his death.

He said she lived in a remote area in the Philippines and would need to make arrangements to travel somewhere with good internet access so that she could watch sentencing proceedings.

Defence barristers previously told the trial there was "no doubt" Motin was at fault for the collision, but claimed his actions did not amount to gross negligence manslaughter.

The court heard the defendant had failed to sound the alarm, summon help or initiate a crash stop, and should have acted sooner to steer the Solong away from its collision course.

Faure-Walker told jurors Motin had a "lax attitude" and "thought he knew better than anyone else".

"Whether in isolation or combination, the defendant's failures were so exceptionally bad they amount to gross negligence," she added.

Faure-Walker said it was also "inconceivable" an experienced mariner such as Motin was "unable to press a button" to switch from autopilot to manual steering.

Had he done so, Mark Pernia would still be alive, she told the court.

"There were no mechanical or electronic difficulties on the Solong. The rudder was working. The only thing that was not working on March 10 2025 was the man in the dock."