Captain Vladimir Motin of MV Solong Snetanced to Six Years

Almost a year ago, in March of 2025, the oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate was hit by the MV Solong while at anchor. The Solong, a Portuguese flagged ship, was captained by Vladimir Motin. At the time of the collision, he was also the only person on watch duty.

The accident was a fatal one, claiming the life of Mark Angelo Pernia, a husband and a father to two young girls. The Philippine national was a crew member on the Solong – last seen in the bow of the ship at the time of the accident. He remains unaccounted for, presumed dead.

This case was heard at the Old Bailey in London. Ahead of the hearing barristers told the trial they believed Motin was wholly responsible for the accident, but did not believe it amounted to gross negligence manslaughter. The Prosecutor, Julia Faure-Walker, however had this to say: "Whether in isolation or combination, the defendant's failures were so exceptionally bad they amount to gross negligence. The only thing that was not working on 10th March 2025 was the man in the dock.”

This comes after audio from the bridge of the Solong seems to relate a full minute of what Humberside Police chief superintendent described to the BBC as, “Abstract silence.” It contrasts with the very different reaction of the crew of the Stena Immaculate. Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson, speaking of footage from the bridge of the tanker that was struck, described being able to “hear the collision and then immediately you have an unfiltered human reaction. One of the crew swears. And then immediately... the alarms are sounded, they're talking about what's happened. They're starting the fire pumps, they're doing everything you would expect them to do."

Speaking of Motin, Nicholson states, "He couldn't explain or wouldn't explain what he was doing, couldn't explain why other safety tools at his disposal, such as radar and electronic systems, weren't used, and a crew notification system was turned off. I don't believe Vladimir Motin's ever given a truthful account about the events.”

Motin’s defence did not deny responsibility for the crash, but also did not believe it constituted gross negligence manslaughter, rather, that it was a case of human error.

The defence said that Motin did indeed attempt to alter the path of the Solong to avoid the Stena Immaculate. And, when at a distance of one nautical mile from where the collision occurred, Motin made a mistake, “pressing the wrong button [to disengage autopilot].” as a result of which, he was falsely under the impression he had manual control of the ship. James Leonard KC, who defended Motin, also claimed that an emergency stop at that moment could have increased the risk of a collision with MV Setna Immaculate’s accommodation area. Putting even more lives at risk. Leonard also notes Motin’s professional record until now, saying, “This was truly an aberration of his conduct."

The prosecution didn’t believe there was any mechanical fault to blame, and there is no evidence to suggest that Motin reported a fault or contacted the engineers of the ship. Nicholson says that the obvious priority for Motin – if the Solong did not react normally to his steering – “would have been to slow the vessel down.” Nicholson adds, "You have a large ship at anchor... around about 170 metres in length. It's been at anchor for over eight hours. It's visible on radar."

"You then have Captain Motin who acknowledges that he sees that vessel on his radar. At the very least he sees it at nine miles.”

Nicholson said Motin, knowing he was on a collision course, "should have sounded an alarm" to both the crew of the Solong and the Stena Immaculate. "That would have prevented the death of Pernia."

Pernia's widow, Leacel, said no compensation would make up for her loss and the impact on her young family.

Motin, yesterday, on the 5th of February, after being found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter, was sentenced to six years in prison. Nicholson felt strongly about this too, "Motin has shown no remorse at any stage of the investigation or court proceedings, and even though he has now been sentenced and held accountable for his crimes, it will not bring Mark back.”

Cover Creative Commons image by Wikimedia user: Calanquee