The Russian captain of a container ship which ploughed into an American oil tanker in the North sea has been found guilty of killing a crew member in the collision.
Vladimir Motin, 59, had been on sole watch of the Portuguese cargo ship, Solong, when it crashed into the anchored tanker, Stena Immaculate, on March 10 last year.
The collision caused a deadly fireball which killed Filipino man Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, who had been working at the bow of the American tanker.
He died instantly, though his body was never recovered.
Motin was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence by a jury at the Old Bailey today after eight hours of deliberation.
Mr Angelo Pernia had a five-year-old child at the time of the collision, but he never met his second child, who was born two months after his death.
Stena Immaculate had been anchored just off the Humber Estuary and was carrying aviation fuel, which caused the inferno.
Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson said the crash was a ‘simple, senseless tragedy’.
Vladimir Motin, 59, was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence on Monday
The ships burst into a fireball as the Stena Immaculate was laden with aviation fuel which caught alight (pictured March 10)
Pernia, 38, (pictured) is presumed dead after crews from Solong could not get to him due to the flames. His body has never been recovered
He added: ‘It’s a miracle that there weren’t more fatalities or serious injuries.
‘Similarly, this could have been a huge environmental catastrophe. The Solong burned for eight days following the collision.
‘There were people on the deck of the Stena Immaculate at the point of impact. One crew member was up a mast changing a light fitting.’
The Solong was travelling to Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and had left Grangemouth in Scotland at 9.05pm on March 9, the day before the fatal crash.
The 130 metre cargo ship had a crew of 14 and was carrying alcoholic spirits and some hazardous substances, including empty but unclean sodium cyanide containers. It weighed 7,852 gross tonnes.
