Captain tried to change course before fatal tanker crash, UK jury told

The captain of a container ship that crashed into a U.S. tanker off Britain's east coast last year tried to change course to avoid the fatal collision, his lawyer told a London court trial over a crew member's death on Wednesday.

Russian national Vladimir Motin, captain of the Solong that hit the anchored Stena Immaculate tanker in March 2025, tried to take his vessel off autopilot shortly before the crash but was unsuccessful, his lawyer said.

Motin, 59, is on trial at the Old Bailey charged with the gross negligence manslaughter of Solong crew member Mark Pernia, 38, whose body has never been found but is presumed dead. Motin has pleaded not guilty.

His lawyer James Leonard said Motin had a duty to avoid the collision and that there was "no doubt that the collision caused the sad death of Mr Pernia".

"On the simple basis of failing to avoid a collision with the Stena Immaculate, there is no doubt that the defendant was at fault," Leonard added.

But he told the jury they would have to consider whether any fault by Motin actually caused the collision and whether it was "grossly negligent as compared with something less than that".

CAPTAIN SAYS HE TRIED TO CHANGE COURSE

Motin was aware of the Stena Immaculate from the Solong's radar from "at least nine nautical miles (16.7 kilometers) away" while the Solong was controlled by autopilot, Leonard said.

He added that, when the Solong was around one nautical mile away from the Stena Immaculate, Motin tried to take the Solong out of autopilot to manually change course.

"There is no dispute that, had he changed course in the way he intended, there would have been no collision," Leonard said.

He told the jury that they would have to consider why Motin waited until the Solong was one nautical mile away and whether that was reasonable.

Prosecutor Tom Little said on Tuesday that Motin, who has pleaded not guilty to gross negligence manslaughter, did "absolutely nothing" to prevent the collision.

The trial is expected to conclude next month.