 "Smoke rises from damaged containers on the deck of the MV Solong cargo ship that rammed into US oil tanker Stena Immaculate on Monday, March 10, 2025, in North Sea in British waters. (Photo: AFP)")
The master of the container ship the Solong, which crashed into another vessel in the North Sea, has been charged with “gross negligence and manslaughter”. 59-year-old Vladimir Motin was in charge of the ship when it crashed into a tanker carrying jet fuel on Monday. The incident took place about 12 miles (19km) off the East Yorkshire coast, leaving one man dead.
The Crown Prosecution Service said that a Filipino national named Mark Angelo Pernia died after the collision. The Russian national is from Primorsky, St Petersburg and will now appear at Hull magistrates court on Saturday, Humberside police said.
“An investigation by Humberside police supported by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) into the collision between a tanker and a cargo vessel in the North Sea, off the coast of East Yorkshire, has resulted in a man being charged," a statement from the authorities reads. “The captain of the Solong vessel, Vladimir Motin , 59 years old, of Primorsky, St Petersburg, Russia, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and been remanded in police custody to appear at Hull magistrates court tomorrow," they added.
What happened?
The Russian vessel hit a US-flagged tanker, the Stena Immaculate, carrying jet fuel for the American military. The ship was anchored while waiting for space at a port in the Humber and was travelling from the Peloponnese region of Greece. “On Monday, 10 March, Humberside police received a report at around 11 am that a collision had occurred between the two vessels, resulting in one crew member being reported missing," the Crown Prosecution Service noted.
“Extensive searches were carried out by HM Coastguard to locate the missing crew member, now presumed deceased. The family are being supported by specialist-trained officers and our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time," the statement further reads.
Meanwhile, the Solong was sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands at a speed of about 16 knots, when it collided with the tanker. Both vessel immediately caught fire following several explosions.
36 vrew members onboard were rescued by the authorities including Americans onboard the Stena Immaculate and members of the Russian and Filipino crew of the Solong. On Friday, the chief coastguard, Paddy O’Callaghan, said both vessels were “stable” and salvors had boarded them to continue to assess the damage caused by the accident.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“There are now only small periodic pockets of fire on the Solong which are not causing undue concern. Specialist tugs with firefighting capability remain at both vessels’ locations," he said. “Regular aerial surveillance flights continue to monitor the vessels and confirm that there continues to be no cause for concern from pollution from either the Stena Immaculate or from the Solong," he added.
With inputs from agencies.