Russian captain ‘did nothing’ to avoid US tanker crash, UK prosecutors tell trial
Written by: Sam Tobin and Corey Rudy
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – The captain of the container ship that crashed into a U.S. tanker off England’s east coast last year did “absolutely nothing” to prevent an avoidable and fatal collision, British prosecutors said on Tuesday as his trial into the death of a crew member began.
Vladimir Motin, a 59-year-old Russian national, was the captain of the Portuguese-flagged Solong when it crashed into the Stena Immaculate tanker anchored towards Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on March 10, 2025.
Prosecutor Tom Little said the Solong was carrying mostly alcohol and some hazardous materials, including empty but dirty containers of sodium cyanide, while the Stena Immaculate was carrying just over 220,000 barrels of high-quality aviation fuel.
Little added that Stena Immaculate was hit while waiting for a dock to unload its cargo and the fire spread to both ships. Jurors were shown footage of the crash and the subsequent fire and smoke rising into the sky.
Motin was charged days later with causing the death of 38-year-old Mark Pernia, a Filipino national and Solong crew member whose body was never found and he was presumed dead.
Pernia, who has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter by gross negligence, is on trial at the Old Bailey court in London. Here, Little said Pernia’s death was “completely preventable.”
CAPTAIN ACCUSED OF ‘GROSSIBLE NEGLIGENCE’
Little was said to jurors as Motin listened with the help of a Russian translator: “If it hadn’t been for the grossly negligent behavior of the defendant man, she (Pernia) would still be alive.”
He said Solong was on a collision course with the Stena Immaculate for more than half an hour before the crash, traveling at approximately 18 miles per hour (29 km/h).
Little said that after the accident, Motin sent WhatsApp messages to his wife, saying that “there was a disaster and that he would be ‘blame'”, and that his wife said that she should have said that she did not see the other ship in the ship’s equipment.
The prosecutor told the court that Motin owed a duty of care to Pernia as Solong’s captain and because he was “standing guard alone on the bridge” before the fatal crash.
“Ultimately he did nothing, absolutely nothing, to prevent the collision,” Little added.
Solong said the ship’s alarm system, which was intended to ensure someone was in the wheelhouse, was turned off and was not active on the morning of the accident.
Little added that the crews of Stena Immaculate and Solong were given no warning of the impending collision.
The hearing is expected to conclude next month.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin and Corey Rudy; Editing by Sarah Young and Tomasz Janowski)
