Captain of Solong Gets Six Years as Court Cites “Complacency and Arrogance”

A judge at the UK’s “Old Bailey” court in London sentenced the former master of the Single containership to six years in jail for causing the death of a seafarer in the fiery 2025 allision with the tanker Stena Immaculate. A jury on Monday had found Vladimir Motin, age 59 of Russia, guilty of gross negligent manslaughter.

Motin had been on watch and the sole member of the crew on the bridge on March 10, 2025, when the containership hit the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate off the coast of England. One crewmember, Mark Angelo Pernia, who was working at the bow of the containership, was never found and presumed to have died from the impact, explosion, and fire that engulfed the two ships. The other 13 crewmembers from the containership and the 23 on the tankers were rescued. The containership was a total loss, while Stena sold the badly damaged tanker and said the new owner intended to repair the ship.

Justice Andrew Barker said during the sentencing on February 5 that Motin’s version of events was “extremely implausible.” He called the allision with the tanker and the death of the seafarer “wholly avoidable.”

The master of the Solong, Vladimir Motin, was sentenced to six years in jail (Crown Prosecution Service)

During the sentencing hearing, the judge said that he believed the captain had fallen victim to his “complacency and arrogance.” Testimony during the trial had shown that the Single was functioning properly and that the Stena Immaculate was visible for more than 30 minutes on radar. Motin, the court was told, had waited until the vessels were one nautical mile apart before attempting to turn the containership. He did not attempt to slow the containership, undertake a crash stop, or sound any alarms before hitting the Stena Immaculate amidships.

“You were a serious accident waiting to happen,” said Justice Barker, addressing Motin. The court had heard that Motin had turned off the system that required someone on the bridge to press a button every 30 minutes to confirm that the bridge was manned and someone was alert, although the captain asserted that he had not fallen asleep that morning or left the bridge after his watch began. He said a lookout was not required before there was good visibility, a fact the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) challenged in its preliminary report, saying there was patchy visibility.

The judge said the facts suggested the Single was not aware of another ship ahead. Motin, they said, had not acted properly and in a timely manner to avoid hitting the tanker.

The police investigator said they believed Motin had failed his duty as captain to protect the ships and their crew. Further, they said he had shown no remorse at any stage and asserted that he changed his account of the events. The judge called the captain’s attitude “somewhat combative” and “argumentative,” saying he was trying to argue his way out of the clear-cut case.

The defense had admitted Motin’s mistake but argued that it did not meet the standard of gross negligence. They said he had become confused when the ship did not respond to his change of course. Motin said he now realizes he pressed the wrong button and failed to turn off the autopilot. Prosecutors argued that it should have been immediately obvious, especially to Motin, who had commanded the ship for years. The defense cited his previous record and called the events of that morning an “aberration of his conduct.”

Motin had told the court he realized his career at sea was over. He said he never intended to return to sea.