North Sea tanker crash captain denies falling asleep, trial told

A cargo ship captain has told a jury at the Old Bailey that he did not lose consciousness or fall asleep in the hours before the vessel he was in command of crashed.

Vladimir Motin was the only person on watch duty on the Solong when it hit US tanker Stena Immaculate off the East Yorkshire coast on 10 March 2025, leaving Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, missing presumed dead.

Motin was asked twice if he had fallen asleep at different points before the crash, to which he replied "no".

Motin, 59, from Primorsky in St Petersburg, Russia, denies gross negligence manslaughter.