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59-year-old Vladimir Motin was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence on Feb. 5. Photo: CPS/PA
A London court has sentenced Russian ship captain Vladimir Motin to six years in prison in a case involving a collision between the container ship Solong (IMO: 9322554) and the U.S.-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate (IMO: 9693018) off the coast of the UK, Sky News reported earlier today. Motin was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence.
The verdict was delivered by the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, known as the Old Bailey. A jury earlier unanimously found the 59-year-old Motin guilty, agreeing with prosecutors that, as captain, he failed to take necessary measures to prevent the collision. Motin pleaded not guilty.
The crash occurred on the morning of Mar. 10, 2025, near the mouth of the Humber River. The Solong, traveling from Grangemouth, Scotland to Rotterdam, struck the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate at a speed of close to 16 knots as it waited to enter the port of Killingholme. Both vessels caught fire after the impact.
The collision killed 38-year-old Solong seaman Mark Angelo Pernia, a citizen of the Philippines. His body was not recovered and he was later presumed dead. All 23 crew members aboard the Stena Immaculate survived.
During the trial, Motin argued the collision had been the result of a steering error. He said he pressed the wrong button while attempting to disengage autopilot, after which the ship’s steering stopped responding. According to Motin, efforts to restart the steering gear failed. On the other side, prosecutors maintained that Pernia’s death came as the result of “gross negligence” by the captain. They argued Motin failed to call for assistance, reduce speed, sound an alarm, or carry out an emergency stop.
In delivering the sentence on Thursday, Judge Andrew Baker described Motin’s version of events as “extremely implausible” and “even worse” than that of the prosecution. He also criticized Motin's “complacency and arrogance,” describing the captain as “a serious accident waiting to happen.”
In a separate comment, Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson of the Humberside Police said Motin had “completely failed in this duty.”
The Solong, sailing under the Portuguese flag, is owned by the German shipping company Ernst Russ. Its crew consisted of five Russian nationals and nine from the Phillipines, according to Russia’s state-controlled TASS news agency. The Stena Immaculate is operated by the U.S.-based company Crowley and was carrying approximately 220,000 barrels of Jet A-1 aviation fuel intended for the U.S. military.
According to a report by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch, only the captain was on watch on the Solong’s bridge at the time of the collision, with no dedicated lookout present on the tanker. Investigators concluded that the crews of both vessels failed to maintain proper visual and radar watch despite restricted visibility, which ranged from 0.25 to 2 nautical miles in the area.
Investigators found that the Solong struck the American tanker at least three times. One of the Stena Immaculate’s fuel tanks was damaged, leading to a leak of aviation fuel and a subsequent fire. Flames also spread to the bow of the cargo ship and the containers stored there. Crews from both vessels were evacuated by His Majesty’s Coastguard.