THE RUSSIAN captain of the container ship that smashed into a US oil tanker has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter.
Vladimir Motin, 59, lead the Solong ship during its catastrophic collision with the Stena Immaculate on Monday which sparked fires and led to a major oil spillage.
Humberside Police confirmed the captain had been charged with gross negligence manslaughter on Friday.
A statement from the force said: “An investigation by Humberside Police supported by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) into the collision between a tanker and a cargo vessel in the North Sea, off the coast of East Yorkshire, has resulted in a man being charged.
“The captain of the Solong vessel, Vladimir Motin, 59 years old, of Primorsky, St Petersburg, Russia, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and been remanded in police custody to appear at Hull Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.
“On Monday, 10 March, Humberside Police received a report at around 11am that a collision had occurred between the two vessels, resulting in one crew member being reported missing.”
The force added: “Extensive searches were carried out by HM Coastguard to locate the missing crew member, now presumed deceased.
“The family are being supported by specialist trained officers and our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.”
Cops are also continuing to speak to those involved to understand what happened after the vessel collided with US-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate.
Putin‘s puppets have pushed a crazed conspiracy theory that British spies were to blame for the horror crash.
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
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Motin was captain of the Solong ship[/caption]
