A jury at the Old Bailey in the UK found Russian captain Vladimir Motin guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence after his containership, Solong, ploughed into the anchored US‑flag tanker Stena Immaculate off the Humber last March, triggering a deadly jet‑fuel inferno that killed tanker crewman Mark Angelo Pernia.
The Stena Immaculate was laden with more than 220,000 barrels of Jet A‑1 when the collision carved a huge gouge in its hull and sent burning fuel across both decks. The Solong burned for eight days; one crewman on the tanker died instantly, and his body was never recovered.
Prosecutors said the tanker had been visible on the Solong’s radar for 36 minutes before impact, yet Motin failed to summon help, slow, sound alarms or initiate evasive action. Prosecutors called the negligence “truly, exceptionally bad.”
Sentencing will take place in the coming weeks.
