LONDON, January 12. /TASS/. The trial for Russian sailor Vladimir Motin, the captain of the Solong container ship, began on Monday in the Central Criminal Court of London, the Old Bailey, a TASS correspondent reports.
Today's hearing, presided over by Judge Andrew Baker, was devoted to organizational issues, including translation of testimony from Russian into English, and the selection of the jury,which will be responsible for deciding whether the 59-year-old Motin is guilty or innocent. Motin attended the hearing with an interpreter and confirmed that he understands basic English.
The jury is due to be sworn in on January 13. The trial should take about four weeks.
On March 10, 2025, the Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong collided in the North Sea with the US-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate, which was anchored. As a result of the fracturing of the cargo tank, some of the aviation fuel that the tanker was carrying spilled into the sea. Explosions ripped through the Stena Immaculate, and both vessels caught fire. On the Solong werefive Russians, captain included. None of them were injured. One of the sailors from the Solong, Filipino Marc Angelo Pernia, went missing, but his search was stopped on the very first day, and he is presumed dead. All other crew from both vessels were evacuated.
Motin was detained and charged with criminal negligence which resulted in the death of a person. He is the only person being tried in this case. At a preliminary hearing in May, Motin pleaded not guilty.
On April 3, the British Maritime Accident Investigation Bureau published a preliminary report on the incident. It said that the shortage of sailors on watch and adverse weather conditions could have caused the Solong container ship to collide with the Stena Immaculate tanker.