Ngày 2.2, phiên tòa tại London đã đưa ra phán quyết cuối cùng đối với Vladimir Motin, 59 tuổi, đến từ St. Petersburg. Bị cáo bị kết tội ngộ sát do sự cẩu thả nghiêm trọng trong quá trình điều khiển tàu, gây ra cái chết thương tâm cho một thành viên thủy thủ đoàn và thảm họa cháy nổ kéo dài trên biển.
Vụ tai nạn xảy ra vào ngày 10.3.2025 trên vùng biển Bắc, ngoài khơi phía đông bắc nước Anh. Khi đó, ông Motin là người duy nhất chịu trách nhiệm trực ca trên đài chỉ huy của tàu hàng Solong. Do thiếu quan sát và xử lý tình huống, con tàu này đã đâm trực diện vào tàu Stena Immaculate đang neo đậu.
The consequence of the collision was extremely tragic. Mark Angelo Pernia, 38 years old, a Filipino sailor working at the bow of the Solong ship, died instantly. Sadly, the victim's body was thrown into the sea and never found.
At the trial, prosecutors presented strong evidence against the Russian captain. They accused Mr. Motin of not taking any basic preventive actions: not calling for help, not slowing down, not sending warning signals and not performing emergency stopping operations. More seriously, he was also accused of lying about the developments of the incident to deny guilt.
Michael Gregory, senior prosecutor, emphasized: "This is a tragic and completely avoidable death of a crew member, the cause of which stems from particularly bad negligence". He also said that the absence of further deaths was a piece of luck.
The level of danger of the incident was pushed up due to the nature of the goods of the two ships. The Solong ship is about 130m long, full of strong liquor and some dangerous chemicals, on its way to Rotterdam port (Netherlands). Meanwhile, the 183m long Stena Immaculate ship is transporting jet fuel to supply the US military.
The strong collision at a speed of 15.2 knots/hour caused fuel leakage and a fierce fire broke out. The fire engulfed both ships and lasted for 8 days before being completely controlled.
The jury heard recordings from the Solong ship's cockpit, recording a terrifying prolonged silence before the collision occurred. It took a full minute after the ramming for people to hear the reaction from Captain Motin.
Rescue forces then successfully rescued 36 people from both oil tankers. It is expected that the court will issue a specific sentence on the penalty for Vladimir Motin on February 5.
