Vladimir Motin, the Russian captain of the cargo ship Solong, which collided with an oil tanker anchored in the North Sea in March 2025. Photo credits: Humberside Police / AFP
A UK court on Thursday (February 5, 2026) sentenced the Russian leader to six years in prison. The cargo ship collided with an oil tanker anchored in the North Sea last yearkilling a crew member.
Vladimir Motin “An accident waiting to happen” Judge Andrew Baker said as he sentenced the captain at London’s Old Bailey court for the negligent manslaughter of Filipino sailor Mark Angelo Pernia.
“It was a complete failure to recognize the risk of collision,” he said.
The 38-year-old sailor who died was married with a young child. He was lost at sea after the accident and his body has not been recovered till now
Pernia’s wife was pregnant with the couple’s second child at the time of the “entirely avoidable” accident, the judge said.
“The blame for that lies in your hands,” he said, adding, “No sentence can bring Mr. Pernia back or take away the great pain or sorrow of his loss.”
A jury from St. Petersburg convicted Motin after eight hours of deliberations earlier this week.
A speeding collision in March 2025 burned both ships and triggered a massive offshore rescue operation.
The jury was told Motin was a “highly trained” sailor who had captained the cargo ship Solong for 15 years.
But the prosecution insisted he “did nothing to avoid the collision”, in which the Solang collided with the oil-laden Stena Immaculate.
Barrister Tom Little told the inquest that “he could and should have acted differently” when his ship was on an “obvious collision course” with the tanker.
Prosecutor Michael Gregory, speaking earlier, said the accident was caused by Motin’s “truly extraordinarily gross negligence”.
Published – February 05, 2026 07:12 pm IST
