Latest news with #MarineAccidentInvestigationBranch
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
North Sea ship crash captain pleads not guilty
The captain of a cargo ship that crashed into an oil tanker in the North Sea has pleaded not guilty to gross negligence manslaughter. Vladimir Motin was captain of the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship Solong which crashed into the US tanker Stena Immaculate off the East Yorkshire coast on 10 March. Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, a Filipino crew member on the Solong, is missing presumed dead. Mr Motin, 59, and from Primorsky in St Petersburg, Russia, was remanded in custody until trial. A further case management hearing has been set for 10 September. Assisted by a Russian interpreter, Motin earlier confirmed his identity before he entered his plea at London's Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, via video link from prison. According to an interim report into the crash, produced by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, 36 crew were saved by rescuers from both ships. A trial date has been set for 12 January 2026. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
North Sea ship crash captain pleads not guilty
The captain of a cargo ship that crashed into an oil tanker in the North Sea has pleaded not guilty to gross negligence manslaughter. Vladimir Motin was captain of the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship Solong which crashed into the US tanker Stena Immaculate off the East Yorkshire coast on 10 March. Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, a Filipino crew member on the Solong, is missing presumed dead. Mr Motin, 59, and from Primorsky in St Petersburg, Russia, was remanded in custody until trial. A further case management hearing has been set for 10 September. Assisted by a Russian interpreter, Motin earlier confirmed his identity before he entered his plea at London's Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, via video link from prison. According to an interim report into the crash, produced by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, 36 crew were saved by rescuers from both ships. A trial date has been set for 12 January 2026. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Russian captain in North Sea crash due in UK court
LONDON: The Russian captain of a ship which struck an oil tanker in the North Sea was to enter a plea Friday in a UK court after being charged with a crewman's death. Vladimir Motin, 59, was due to appear for a hearing at London's Old Bailey criminal court charged with gross negligence manslaughter. His container ship, the Portuguese-flagged Solong, rammed into the jet-fuel-laden Stena Immaculate on the morning of March 10, setting both vessels ablaze and triggering a massive off-shore rescue operation. The US-flagged tanker, which had been chartered by the US military, was anchored 13 miles (21 kilometres) from the port of Hull, northeastern England, at the time of the crash. One Solong crew member, Filipino Mark Angelo Pernia, died in the collision, which also sparked fears of ecological damage after a tank containing fuel was ruptured. Plastic pellets from the container ship were also found floating in the sea in the following days. Motin, from Primorsky, St Petersburg, appeared by videolink from prison in Hull in the last hearing in April, when the judge pushed back the plea hearing due to the lack of a Russian interpreter. No foul play A preliminary report found that 'neither the Solong nor Stena Immaculate had a dedicated lookout on the bridge' at the time of the incident and that visibility was 'patchy'. The UK government has ruled out foul play. The stationary oil tanker was operating 'in compliance' with watch requirements for an anchored vessel, its owner Crowley has insisted. The Solong penetrated one of Stena's cargo tanks, 'releasing aviation fuel into the sea and onto the bow of Solong', the Marine Accident Investigation Branch detailed in its report. 'The aviation fuel was ignited by the heat generated by the force of the collision,' it said. It took nearly two days to extinguish visible flames on board in a huge firefighting operation. Both vessels have been relocated to different ports for salvage operations and damage assessments. Ernst Russ, which owns the Solong, and Crowley have filed legal claims against each other. While environmental disaster from the jet fuel spillage was averted, the coastguard undertook a clean-up operation after discovering clumps of plastic pellets, or nurdles, in the sea and washed ashore. The nurdles -- tiny pieces of plastic resin which are non-toxic but pose a risk to wildlife -- came from the Solong which was carrying 15 containers of the pellets. More than 16 tonnes (16,000 kilograms) of plastics were removed from beaches in northeastern Lincolnshire, according to the local council.
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Russian captain in UK Court over deadly North Sea crash
LONDON: The Russian captain of a ship which struck an oil tanker in the North Sea was to enter a plea Friday in a UK court after being charged with a crewman's death. Vladimir Motin, 59, was due to appear for a hearing at London's Old Bailey criminal court charged with gross negligence manslaughter. His container ship, the Portuguese-flagged Solong, rammed into the jet-fuel-laden Stena Immaculate on the morning of March 10, setting both vessels ablaze and triggering a massive off-shore rescue operation. The US-flagged tanker, which had been chartered by the US military, was anchored 13 miles (21 kilometres) from the port of Hull, northeastern England, at the time of the crash. One Solong crew member, Filipino Mark Angelo Pernia, died in the collision, which also sparked fears of ecological damage after a tank containing fuel was ruptured. Plastic pellets from the container ship were also found floating in the sea in the following days. Motin, from Primorsky, St Petersburg, appeared by videolink from prison in Hull in the last hearing in April, when the judge pushed back the plea hearing due to the lack of a Russian interpreter. No foul play A preliminary report found that 'neither the Solong nor Stena Immaculate had a dedicated lookout on the bridge' at the time of the incident and that visibility was 'patchy'. The UK government has ruled out foul play. The stationary oil tanker was operating 'in compliance' with watch requirements for an anchored vessel, its owner Crowley has insisted. The Solong penetrated one of Stena's cargo tanks, 'releasing aviation fuel into the sea and onto the bow of Solong', the Marine Accident Investigation Branch detailed in its report. 'The aviation fuel was ignited by the heat generated by the force of the collision,' it said. It took nearly two days to extinguish visible flames on board in a huge firefighting operation. Both vessels have been relocated to different ports for salvage operations and damage assessments. Ernst Russ, which owns the Solong, and Crowley have filed legal claims against each other. While environmental disaster from the jet fuel spillage was averted, the coastguard undertook a clean-up operation after discovering clumps of plastic pellets, or nurdles, in the sea and washed ashore. The nurdles -- tiny pieces of plastic resin which are non-toxic but pose a risk to wildlife -- came from the Solong which was carrying 15 containers of the pellets. More than 16 tonnes (16,000 kilograms) of plastics were removed from beaches in northeastern Lincolnshire, according to the local council.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Never-before-seen Bayesian yacht wreck sheds light on real cause of tragedy
The first images of the British superyacht Bayesian have emerged showing the wreck in remarkable detail, just nine months after the vessel sank, killing seven people For the first time since it sank last August, the British superyacht Bayesian has been captured in remarkable detail - 150 feet below the surface of the Mediterranean. Renowned photographer Massimo Sestini's images show the gold lettering of the yacht's name still proudly displayed on the submerged stern. Despite just nine months underwater, nature has begun reclaiming the wreck. Seaweed is already colonising the once-pristine deck, while fish explore their new habitat. The photographs come as investigations continue into how the 'unsinkable' £30 million yacht went down so suddenly, tragically claiming seven lives - including British billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah. Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued. Sestini's photos appear to challenge one early theory: the yacht's stern hatch remains firmly closed, contradicting claims by shipbuilders that it was left open during the storm, allowing water to flood in. The wreck lies largely intact on the seabed off the coast of Sicily as a £20 million salvage operation works to raise it. The Bayesian - known for its signature 236-foot mast, one of the tallest in the world —sank in just 16 minutes during a fierce storm with 100 mph winds while anchored near the fishing village of Porticello. A recent interim report from British investigators highlighted 'vulnerabilities' in the yacht's stability, noting that crew members were unable to prevent the 184-foot luxury sailing vessel from violently tilting. Crucially, the captain and crew were reportedly unaware of these risks, as the necessary safety information was not included in the onboard safety booklet, according to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB). Tragedy struck again earlier this month when a Dutch diver working on the salvage operation died, marking the eighth fatality linked to the Bayesian. In response, all manned diving was temporarily suspended, and underwater exploration shifted to robotic systems. Mr. Sestini described the conditions at the wreck site as treacherous. The great depth, limited sunlight, and swirling sediment reduced visibility to as little as one metre. 'When I connected my camera to the computer and saw the images of the wreck on the screen, my heart sank,' the photographer said, recalling his own near-drowning while diving beneath a frozen Italian lake earlier this year. Speaking to the Italian magazine Oggi, Sestini called the sinking 'a great mystery'. 'The wreck seems intact,' he said, noting that while initial reports blamed an open stern hatch for flooding, his photos show the door remains closed. Shortly after the disaster on August 19, the CEO of Italian Sea Group - who acquired Bayesian's builder Perini Navi two years prior - suggested human error was to blame, insisting the stern hatch had been 'clearly' open. The company has yet to comment on the MAIB's ongoing investigation. The yacht was legally owned by Mr. Lynch's wife, Ms. Bacares, who survived the tragedy. Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife, Judy Bloomer, 71, who were all British nationals. The others who died in the sinking were US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the vessel. Mr Lynch and his daughter were said to have lived in the vicinity of London and the Bloomers lived in Sevenoaks in Kent. The tycoon founded software giant Autonomy in 1996 and was cleared in June last year of carrying out a massive fraud over the sale of the firm to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal in the case in the US.
