Overview
- Vladimir Motin, 59, is on trial at the Old Bailey for gross negligence manslaughter over the presumed death of crewman Mark Angelo Pernia after the Solong struck the anchored Stena Immaculate on March 10, 2025.
- Opening statements said Motin was on sole watch as the container ship stayed on an obvious collision course with the US‑flagged tanker carrying large quantities of aviation fuel.
- Jurors were told the Solong’s Bridge Navigation Watch Alarm System had been switched off since December 2024 and that the system’s key was in the captain’s possession.
- The court saw CCTV and heard audio from the aftermath of the crash and was told of WhatsApp messages in which Motin told his wife there had been a disaster and that he would be “guilty.”
- Authorities reported fuel leakage and nurdles washing ashore after the blaze, and the shipowners Ernst Russ and Crowley have filed civil claims set to be heard later this year.