Russian captain who crashed ship into oil tanker in North Sea found guilty of killing crew member
Russian captain guilty of killing crew member in fireball oil tanker crash
- Russian sea captain Vladimir Motin has been found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence after his ship, the Solong, collided with an oil tanker off the Yorkshire coast.
- Crew member Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, died instantly in the resulting fire, with his body never recovered; he had a five-year-old child and a second child born two months after his death.
- Motin, 59, was on sole watch duty when the Solong collided with the anchored Stena Immaculate near the Humber Estuary on March 10, despite the tanker being visible on radar for 36 minutes.
- The prosecution highlighted Motin's multiple failures, including not steering away, failing to summon help or sound an alarm, and switching off the ship's bridge navigation watch alert system.
- Motin denied being asleep and claimed he pressed the wrong button when attempting to steer, but the prosecution argued he lied and did nothing to avoid the collision, calling it a "simple, senseless tragedy".
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