Prosecutors Assert Stena Immaculate Collision was “Entirely Avoidable”
The jury hearing the gross manslaughter charges against the captain of the containership Solong was told by prosecutors that the collision was entirely avoidable. During the first day of the trial, the jury learned more details about the collision in which the containership rammed the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate, resulting in the loss of one seafarer and extensive damage as an inferno enveloped the two vessels.
Captain Vladimir Motin, age 59, of Russia, has pleaded not guilty, claiming first that he did not see the vessel and then that the controls of the containership did not react in time to prevent hitting the anchored tanker. During the first day of the case, the jurors were told that he was “highly trained,” having been at sea since 1985. He became a captain in 2005 and had commanded the Portuguese-flagged containership for 15 years.
Prosecutor Tom Little began the case, asserting that the captain had “a duty of care” and that he had failed to protect his crew and ship. They charged that he did nothing to prevent ramming into the tanker. As the captain and sole officer on the bridge, they asserted he was responsible for the navigation and safety of his vessel and the ones around him.
The Solong had departed Scotland the night before, and Motin took over the watch and command of the bridge at around 0700. The UK’s Maritime Accident Investigation Branch, in its preliminary report, said the conditions had patchy visibility the morning of March 10 before the allision.
New details came out in court as the case began. Prosecutors confirmed the containership was traveling at approximately 16 knots. It hit the Stena Immaculate at a speed of 15.2 knots. Prosecutors contended that the tanker would have been visible on radar for about 36 minutes and become visible on the horizon about 19 minutes before they made contact.
Motin, they revealed, had set the vessel’s radar to a range of 9 miles while he was on watch. They also revealed that the vessel’s Bridge Navigation Watch Alert System, which monitors the bridge and requires a reset button to be pushed at set time intervals to ensure there is an active bridge watch, had been turned off by the captain. Normally, if the watch office does not press the button, an alarm sounds throughout the ship. The second officer of the Solong said the system had been off since at least December 2024, when he joined the ship.
The Stena Immaculate had anchored the night before about 10 miles off Hull, England, in an established anchorage area. There were other ships in the anchorage as well. Prosecutors emphasized the tanker was turned off, and it would have taken the crew at least 30 to 40 minutes to restart the engine and 35 minutes to maneuver, meaning the sole responsibility for avoiding the allision lay with the Solong. Details in the court, however, appear to show the crew had not seen the approaching containership and was surprised by the impact.
After the collision and as the fire was growing on the ships, the crew of the Solong attempted to search for the seafarer who had been working near the bow. They were unable to reach parts of the ship before they had to abandon ship. The body of the seafarer, Mark Angelo Pernina, a Filipino national, age 38, was never found. A total of 13 crew evacuated from the Solong and 23 crewmembers from the Stena Immaculate.
Portions of the captain’s interview with the Humber Police were also revealed. He reportedly said he had seen the tanker, attempted to switch to manual control, but he did not have enough time, and panicked as they hit the tanker. He reportedly told investigators he first saw the Stena Immaculate when they were at a distance of three miles and at one mile decided to make a manual turn to starboard. Media reports said he told the police he might have not disengaged the autopilot. He told the police, “I didn’t do it deliberately.”
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The justice overseeing the trial, Andrew Baker, told the jury that they must be “blind” to the nationalities of the seafarers.
Gross negligence manslaughter is a common law offense in the UK and carries a maximum of life imprisonment. The trial is expected to continue for several weeks. The two shipping companies, Ernst Russ and Crowley, have also filed civil suits currently expected to go to trial in October.