Slain Pinoy sailor gets justice; Russian ‘guilty’
The seaman, 38, who was married with a young child, was lost at sea following the crash.
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The seaman, 38, who was married with a young child, was lost at sea following the crash.
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The Russian captain of a cargo ship that hit an anchored oil tanker in the North Sea last year was on Monday found guilty by a UK court of killing a crew member.
After eight hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Vladimir Motin of the manslaughter by gross negligence of Filipino sailor Mark Angelo Pernia.
The seaman, 38, who was married with a young child, was lost at sea following the crash in which Motin’s cargo ship, the Solong, collided with the oil-laden Stena Immaculate, triggering a fiery blaze off the eastern UK coast.
Pernia’s body has never been recovered.
Motin, from Saint Petersburg, showed no emotion as he was convicted by a jury at London’s Old Bailey court. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Thursday.
Speaking after the verdict, investigating officer Craig Nicholson described the crash as a “senseless tragedy.”
“It’s a miracle that there weren’t more fatalities or serious injuries,” he said.
Prosecutor Tom Little told the court Pernia’s wife — who was seven months pregnant with their second child at the time of his death — lived in a remote area of the Philippines.
She would need to make arrangements to travel somewhere with good internet access to watch the sentencing remotely.
“This was a tragic and entirely avoidable death of a member of the crew caused by truly, exceptionally bad negligence,” said prosecutor Michael Gregory.
“It is with great sadness for his family that his body has never been found,” he added.
The collision at speed in March set both vessels ablaze and triggered a massive offshore rescue operation.
