A Russian ship captain has been sentenced to six years in prison following a fatal tanker collision in the Humber Estuary that resulted in the death of a Filipino sailor. Vladimir Motin, aged 59 from St Petersburg, was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence after a jury deliberated for eight hours on Monday.
Deadly Collision and Tragic Loss
The incident occurred on March 10 last year when the Solong cargo ship, under Motin's sole watch, collided with the Stena Immaculate tanker. The crash claimed the life of Mark Angelo Pernia, a 38-year-old Filipino sailor and father of a young child. Pernia was working on the bow of the Solong when the collision sparked a fierce blaze that engulfed the vessel. His body has never been recovered from the waters of the Humber Estuary.
Tragically, Pernia never had the chance to meet his second child, who was born just two months after his death in UK waters. The collision involved two substantial vessels carrying hazardous cargo, prompting an extensive search and rescue operation amid fears of a potential environmental catastrophe.
Prosecution Details Multiple Failures
Prosecutors presented evidence outlining a series of critical failures by Captain Motin in the lead-up to the disaster. The Stena Immaculate, a 601-foot tanker loaded with over 220,000 barrels of aviation fuel destined for US fighter jets, had been visible on Solong's radar for 36 minutes before impact. Despite this, Motin took no evasive action.
The prosecution detailed that Motin failed to call for assistance, reduce speed, sound alarms to alert crews on both ships, or initiate an emergency stop procedure. Furthermore, it was alleged that he had disabled the navigation watch alert system designed to ensure a sailor remains awake and present on the bridge, leading to suspicions that he may have been asleep at the time.
Justice Baker's Scathing Assessment
Mr Justice Andrew Baker delivered a damning verdict on Motin's conduct during the trial. He described the captain's account of events as "highly implausible" and "extremely problematic," characterising it as worse than the prosecution's version. Justice Baker accused Motin of leading jurors on a "merry dance" with his evidence, which he labelled an "exercise in inventive distraction."
"His claim to be confused was a lie that unravelled when tested at trial," Justice Baker stated emphatically. The judge also dismissed Motin's defence explanation as "desperate stuff," highlighting the captain's contradictory statements to police and jurors.
Vessel Specifications and Cargo Details
The Solong, measuring approximately 426 feet in length and weighing around 7,852 tonnes, had departed from Grangemouth in Scotland on March 9. It was en route to Rotterdam in the Netherlands with 14 crew members aboard, carrying alcoholic spirits and hazardous materials including empty sodium cyanide containers.
Meanwhile, the Stena Immaculate had journeyed from Greece with a crew of 23 when the collision occurred. Following the impact at a speed of 15.2 knots (approximately 17.4 mph), the US-flagged tanker miraculously remained anchored while the Solong drifted along the East Yorkshire coast, burning for hours before being assisted by tugboats.
Defence Claims and Prosecution Rebuttal
In his defence, Motin claimed that he did not take immediate action upon seeing Stena Immaculate ahead because the tanker was moving slowly and unpredictably. He asserted that he accidentally pressed the wrong button while attempting to disengage autopilot and steer away when the vessels were about one nautical mile apart.
Motin told the jury that he believed the Solong had developed a rudder fault, similar to issues experienced by its sister vessel Sanskip Express. Fearing a collision with the accommodation block of Stena Immaculate that could endanger American sailors, he decided against executing a crash stop manoeuvre.
Prosecutors countered these claims, suggesting that Motin fabricated his account to facilitate a return to his wife in Russia. They emphasised that his failures constituted "exceptionally bad" conduct amounting to gross negligence.
Aftermath and Rescue Operations
Following the collision, crew members on Stena Immaculate immediately radioed a distress call: "Holy s**t... what just hit us... a container ship... this is no drill, this is no drill, fire fire fire, we have had a collision." Reports indicate that approximately one minute elapsed before any response was heard from Motin.
Captain Motin and the remaining Solong crew abandoned ship and were subsequently brought ashore in Grimsby. From there, Motin messaged his wife admitting he would be "guilty." The incident has raised significant concerns about maritime safety protocols and the consequences of negligence in busy shipping channels like the Humber Estuary.
