A London court sentenced Russian captain Vladimir Motin to six years in prison after convicting him of manslaughter by gross negligence over the March 2025 collision between the container ship Solong and the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate off the Yorkshire coast. The impact tore a large breach in the tanker, triggered a jet-fuel fire, and killed 38-year-old Filipino seafarer Mark Angelo Pernia, whose body has not been recovered.
Justice Andrew Baker said Pernia’s death was wholly avoidable and told Motin he had been “a serious accident waiting to happen.” The judge found that Motin failed to keep a proper lookout for an extended period, calling it a wholesale breach of duty. Motin’s account that he pressed the wrong button while trying to disengage autopilot was dismissed as extremely implausible.
Prosecutors cited CCTV, voyage data recorder material and witness testimony indicating the tanker was visible on Solong’s radar for 36 minutes before impact. Jurors heard that Motin did not call for support, raise alarms, reduce speed, or attempt a crash stop, and that the bridge remained silent for a prolonged period before Solong struck at 15.2 knots. Both vessels caught fire, and Solong burned for eight days.
Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson said Motin “completely failed in his duty” and showed no remorse. In a statement read in court, Pernia’s widow described the lasting loss for her young family; Pernia never met his second child, born two months after the tragedy. Investigators pointed to complacency and poor bridge resource management—rather than equipment faults—as the core cause of a disaster that could have taken more lives and caused severe environmental harm.
