Cargo ship captain jailed for six years over deadly North Sea tanker crash

A cargo ship captain found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter has been jailed for six years.

Vladimir Motin, from St Petersburg, Russia, was on watch on the Solong when it collided with US tanker Stena Immaculate off the East Yorkshire coast – leaving 38-year-old Mark Angelo Pernia missing presumed dead.

A trial at the Old Bailey in London heard Motin, 59, did not keep a proper lookout on 10 March 2025, or use all available means to determine the risk of a collision or leave enough time to take evasive action.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Andrew Baker told Motin he had fallen prey to his own “complacency and arrogance”, adding: “You were a serious accident waiting to happen.”

Defence barristers previously told the trial there was no doubt Motin was at fault for the collision, but claimed his actions did not amount to gross negligence manslaughter.

Prosecutor Julia Faure-Walker said Motin had lied about what happened to “get back to his wife” in Russia.

The judge said Motin’s version of events was “extremely implausible” and that Pernia’s death was “wholly avoidable”.

The basic facts of the collision “suggest a ship unaware of the ship ahead” and that was the “most likely” explanation, he added.

Motin had led jurors on a “merry dance” in his evidence, which was an “exercise in inventive distraction”, Mr Justice Baker said.

“His claim to be confused was a lie that unravelled when tested at trial.”

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Pernia’s widow, Leacel, said no amount of compensation made up for the pain of her loss and the impact on her young family.

Defence barrister James Leonard KC told the court Motin was remorseful about what happened and had vowed never to go to sea again.

He highlighted Motin’s previous record, saying: “This was truly an aberration of his conduct.”

The Stena Immaculate, with a crew of 23, was transporting more than 220,000 barrels of aviation fuel from Greece to the UK.

The Solong, with a 14-strong crew, was carrying mainly alcoholic spirits and some hazardous substances, including empty but unclean sodium cyanide containers.