Solong’s Master Enters Not Guilty Plea for Death of Seafarer in Collision

 

The master of the containership Solong made his first official appearance at a court in the UK today, May 30, two and a half months after the ship he was commanding hit the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate off the English coast. The UK is proceeding with charges of manslaughter for the death of a Filipino seafarer working aboard the vessel at the time of the allision.

Vladimir Motin, age 59, a Russian citizen from St. Petersburg, made a brief appearance via video from Hull where he remains detained. During the hearing conducted by London's Central Criminal Court (the “Old Bailey”), Motin was asked to confirm his identity. He then entered a plea of not guilty.

During the brief appearance, the captain was assisted by a Russian interpreter. During a previous hearing, the court had to adjourn until an interpreter could be found to assist Motin.

After the brief hearing, Motin was ordered to remain in jail with the next hearing scheduled for September 10. A tentative trial date has been set for January 12, 2026.

UK prosecutors so far are only perusing the charge of manslaughter in the case although the maritime investigation into the allision and subsequent fire that heavily damaged both vessels is continuing. All the seafarers were rescued from the Stena Immaculate in an operation that included privately contracted crew transfer vessels working in the offshore wind sector as well as HM Coastguard and boats from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

One crewmember from the Solong, 38-year-old Mark Angelo Pernia of the Philippines, was reported missing. An unsuccessful search was launched. It was later reported that he likely had been working at the bow of the containership when it struck the Stena Immaculate and the fireball erupted from the jet fuel loaded on the tanker.

The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch released initial results at the beginning of April from its ongoing investigation into the “very serious marine casualty” that occurred on March 10. Critical details were confirmed including that Motin had been the sole person on the bridge of the containership when it hit the anchored tanker. He had resumed watch at 0700 after at most seven hours off the bridge after the vessel’s departure from Scotland.

The ship was sailing at about 15 knots and likely encountering patchy fog. Under the regulations, MAIB highlighted, the containership was required to have a lookout during darkness or when it was encountering limited visibility such as fog.

MAIB emphasizes with the release of its initial information that the findings were preliminary and that the investigation into the accident was ongoing. It stated among the factors it would be exploring are “the navigation and watchkeeping practices on board both vessels, manning, and fatigue management.”

This incident again raised awareness of these issues and this week, researchers released a report highlighting that fatigue and anxiety are increasing for seafarers. The same issues of manning and fatigue are also being investigated in the grounding of another smaller containership in Norway. The second officer who was along on the bridge navigating the vessel confirmed that he had fallen asleep toward the end of his watch and shortly before the vessel grounded.

In the past few years, there have been several incidents in the North Sea and Baltic highlighting similar issues. Vessels were reported to be operating with a single officer on the bridge who became distracted before collisions or other incidents.