The Russian captain of the Solong cargo ship that crashed into a US-flagged tanker earlier this week in the North Sea appeared in an English court on Saturday on charges of gross negligence manslaughter.
The Portuguese-flagged Solong hit the Stena Immaculate on Monday while it was at anchor off England’s northeast coast and carrying huge amounts of jet fuel for the US military, setting fire to both vessels and prompting emergency rescue efforts by the British coastguard.
The Solong’s master, Vladimir Motin, a 59-year-old from St. Petersburg, appeared at Hull Magistrate’s Court on Saturday after being charged over the death of Mark Angelo Pernia, a 38-year-old Filipino crew member who could not be located after the crash and is presumed dead.
In a 35-minute hearing, the court heard how the Solong had careered into the Stena Immaculate, an incident that maritime experts have called a “mystery.”
Prosecutor Amelia Katz said Stena Immaculate had been anchored for more than 15 hours before the Solong, travelling at a speed of over 15 knots, crashed into it, Reuters reported.
“For a period of over 40 minutes before the collision, the Solong was on a direct route for impact with the Stena Immaculate, which was anchored and stationary,” Katz said.
“There were no communication attempts from the Solong to warn of the impending collision and the Solong did not adjust its course or speed at any point,” she added.
The full 23-person crew of the Stena Immaculate was rescued, while only 13 of the 14 people on board the Solong were brought to safety. Britain’s maritime minister Mike Kane said that a search and rescue operation for the missing crew member, later identified as Pernia, had been called off late Monday.
The Stena Immaculate, which Kane said was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel when it crashed, is part of a fleet of 10 tankers involved in a US government program to supply its military with fuel.
US logistics firm Crowley, which manages the tanker, said the vessel is part of the US Defense Department’s “Tanker Security Program” which “ensures a commercial fleet can readily transport liquid fuel supplies in times of need.”
Britain’s coastguard said Wednesday that there was no fire visible on the Stena Immaculate, but by Friday there were still “small periodic pockets on fire” on the Solong.
Although the crash initially caused fears of huge damage to the environment, the coastguard said Friday that “there continues to be no cause for concern from pollution” from either ship.
Greenpeace said that an environmental disaster seems to have been “narrowly averted.”
“When a container ship the length of a football pitch rams into a tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of jet fuel at 16 knots close to sensitive nature sites, the potential for serious harm is huge,” Dr. Paul Johnston from the Greenpeace Research Laboratories said Wednesday.
“The priority should now be to ensure as far as possible that both ships remain afloat, that no further jet fuel leaks from the tanker and that the cargo of the container ship is fully characterised and secured,” he added.
Britain’s coastguard said the Stena Immaculate remains at anchor while the Solong was being held in a safe position offshore by a tugboat.
