The captain of the Solong container vessel, Vladimir Motin, is set to appear in court over the death of a crew member following the collision of his cargo ship with a US fuel tanker.
British police have charged the Russian captain of a cargo ship that collided with a United States fuel tanker in the North Sea this week with manslaughter and gross negligence, following the death of a crew member.
On Friday night, Humberside police announced that Vladimir Motin, 59, from Primorsky in Saint Petersburg, Russia, has been remanded in custody and will appear at Hull Magistrates Court on Saturday.
On Monday, the Portuguese-flagged Solong container vessel, captained by Motin, collided at full speed with the Stena Immaculate tanker while the latter was anchored off the coast of Hull in northeastern England. The Stena Immaculate was carrying US military jet fuel.
During the collision, which triggered massive fires and explosions, one of the Solong’s crew members, 38-year-old Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia, went missing and is now “presumed” dead.
“Extensive searches were conducted by HM Coastguard to locate the missing crew member, who is now presumed deceased,” Humberside police stated.
“The family is being supported by specially trained officers, and our thoughts remain with them during this difficult time,” the statement added.
The remaining 36 crew members from both vessels survived the incident and were brought ashore.
On Friday, the Russian embassy in London posted on its Telegram channel that its diplomats had a “detailed telephone conversation with the captain of the vessel” on Thursday.
“According to him, he is feeling well. The Russian citizen has been provided with an interpreter and a lawyer, with whom our staff remain in constant contact,” the embassy wrote, adding that it is in “close contact with the British authorities.”
The coastguard reported on Thursday that salvage teams had boarded both vessels to conduct initial damage assessments. The Stena Immaculate remains anchored at the collision site, while the Solong has drifted south of the location.
In an update on Friday, chief coastguard Paddy O’Callaghan stated that the vessels were “stable.”
“There are now only small, periodic pockets of fire on the Solong, which are not causing significant concern. Specialist tugs with firefighting capabilities remain stationed at both vessels’ locations,” O’Callaghan said, adding that there continues to be “no cause for concern” regarding pollution from the collision.
While the British government has ruled out foul play in the incident, investigators are still examining the causes of the crash.
Additionally, Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated on Thursday that the situation was “reasonably contained.”
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