North Sea ship crash captain questioned in court over actions

The Stena Immaculate, with a crew of 23, was transporting more than 220,000 barrels of aviation fuel from Greece to the UK.

The Solong, with a 14-strong crew, was carrying mainly alcoholic spirits and some hazardous substances, including empty but unclean sodium cyanide containers.

The prosecutor asked: "Was it foreseeable that you could have killed somebody either by being knocked overboard or in any number of different ways because of this collision?"

Motin said he had no knowledge of the contents aboard the tanker before the collision.

"The tanker could have had flammable goods?" Little asked.

Motin replied: "Yeah, OK. I understand, but what you want from me?"

Little continued: "Whether you agree with that proposition. You collided with Stena Immaculate at 16 knots, metal-on-metal, creating a spark."

The defendant replied: "Spark will always be created."

The prosecutor said: "So I suggest the nature of this collision was foreseeable, that there was a serious and obvious risk of death to someone on the Solong or Stena Immaculate."

Motin replied: "I cannot make any assumption, yes or no."

Little went on: "I suggest had you sounded that alarm in time, Mark Pernia would have been able to get out of the bow and he would have survived."

The prosecutor rejected the defendant's claim that he "didn't know" Mr Pernia was on the bow, pointing out that he had been on duty and had been working in that area.

Concluding his cross-examination, he said: "If there had been no collision, Mark Pernia would obviously still be alive."

"Yes," Motin replied.

The trial continues.