Russian Captain Vladimir Motin Guilty Of Gross Negligence Manslaughter
Court convicts Vladimir Motin for the March 10, 2025 North Sea crash that killed crewman Mark Angelo Pernia.
Overview
A jury at London’s Old Bailey found Vladimir Motin, 59, guilty Monday of gross negligence manslaughter over the March 10, 2025 collision of the Solong with the anchored Stena Immaculate, according to court documents.
The collision off northeast England killed Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, and sparked a fire that burned for eight days while both vessels carried flammable cargo, records show.
Prosecutors allege Motin was on sole watch, failed to sound alarms or execute a crash stop, did not summon help and lied about the events, senior specialist prosecutor Michael Gregory said at trial.
Court evidence showed the Solong measured 130 meters and was travelling about 15.2 knots on impact, the Stena Immaculate measured 183 meters, and rescuers saved 36 people from both ships.
Motin will be sentenced on Thursday, according to the court schedule, and the conviction closes the criminal trial phase while civil and regulatory inquiries could continue.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources present this coverage neutrally: they stick to factual legal terms (gross negligence manslaughter), documented evidence (CCTV footage, recorded crew audio) and attributed prosecutor statements. Evaluative language appears mainly as quoted source content. The piece’s lack of a defense voice is a reporting gap, not overt editorial framing.
FAQ
Prosecutors alleged Motin was on sole watch, failed to sound alarms or execute a crash stop, did not summon help, lied about the events, set radar to 9 miles, and turned off the Bridge Navigation Watch Alert System.
The collision breached Stena Immaculate’s No.7 port cargo tank, releasing aviation fuel onto Solong’s bow, which ignited due to the heat of impact and spread to containers on Solong.
Mark Angelo Pernia, a 38-year-old Filipino able seaman on Solong, was in the forecastle area at the time of collision and is presumed dead, with his body never found.
Aviation fuel spilled into the sea, and burnt material along with plastic pellets (nurdles) from Solong washed up along the UK’s east coast, with ongoing pollution assessments.
The MAIB investigation is ongoing, examining navigation practices, watchkeeping, manning, fatigue, vessel maintenance, anchorage use, and environmental conditions; civil and regulatory inquiries may continue, with salvage operations underway.
