The MV Solong collided with the Stena Immaculate off Yorkshire on Monday
The Russian captain of a ship which crashed into a US oil tanker in the North Sea, killing a crew member, has been remanded in custody.
Vladimir Motin, 59, had been at the helm of the Solong, a Portuguese-registered cargo ship, for about three hours before it crashed into the Stena Immaculate just before 10am on Monday.
He is accused of the gross negligence manslaughter of Mark Angelo Pernia, a 38-year-old Filipino national, who had been working on the front deck of the Solong.
The other 13 crew members were rescued along with all 23 people on the tanker, which was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel, Hull magistrates’ court was told on Saturday.
Mr Motin, of Primorsky, St Petersburg, wore a blue fleece, blue checked shirt, and grey T-shirt during the hearing, which lasted around 35 minutes.
The bespectacled defendant was accompanied by a prison officer and a Russian interpreter.
Defendant enters no plea
Mr Motin was told through the interpreter that he faced one charge that “on Monday, March 10 2025, you unlawfully killed Mark Angelo Pernia contrary to common law”. No plea was entered.
Amelia Katz, prosecuting, told the court the Stena Immaculate had been anchored in the North Sea 10.2 nautical miles from the Yorkshire coast since 6.30pm the day before the collision.
Mr Motin had been in sole charge of the Solong since 6.50am on Monday morning.
The first that was known about the collision was when the Coastguard received a message about it.
Andrew Havery, for Mr Motin, said his client was arrested on Monday evening and held in police custody for questioning. He did not make any bail application.
Old Bailey appearance next month
Tan Ikram, the deputy chief magistrate for England and Wales, remanded Mr Motin in custody to appear at The Old Bailey at 10am on April 14.
The Solong had been sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam.
It was originally feared it was carrying sodium cyanide, but the German owner Ernst Russ said four containers on the vessel had previously been carrying the chemical.
The Stena Immaculate, which is managed by the US logistics firm Crowley, is part of a fleet of 10 tankers involved in a US government programme to supply its military with fuel.
According to Crowley, the tanker security programme “ensures a commercial fleet can readily transport liquid fuel supplies in times of need”.
