Cargo ship crash captain appears in court

Vladimir Motin appeared before the Old Bailey via a video link on Monday

The captain of a cargo ship that crashed into an oil tanker in the North Sea has appeared in court charged with gross negligence manslaughter over the death of a crewman.

Vladimir Motin, 59, appeared at London's Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, via video link from prison on Monday.

Mr Motin, from Primorsky, St Petersburg, in Russia, spoke only to confirm his name during the brief hearing, and the case was adjourned until 30 May for a plea hearing at the same court.

The Portuguese-flagged cargo ship Solong and the US tanker Stena Immaculate crashed off the East Yorkshire coast on 10 March. Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, a Filipino crew member on the Solong, is missing presumed dead.

The Solong cargo ship was involved in a crash with a tanker off the East Yorkshire coast on 10 March

Rescuers saved 36 other crew from both ships, according to an interim report into the crash produced by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

A provisional trial date has been set for 12 January 2026.

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