Police name North Sea collision ship skipper and say he will appear before magistrates tomorrow

                                                               

Schematic of last Monday's accident (photo: Fortuna imperatrix  mundi via Wikimedia Commons)

THE captain of the cargo ship that earlier this week crashed into a stationary oil tanker has been named.

He is Vladimir Motin (59), of Primorsky, St Petersburg, in Russia.

Humberside police say he has been charged with Gross Negligence Manslaughter and is due to appear before Hull magistrates tomorrow.

One of his crew - Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia (38) - was lost and is feared to be dead following the collision in foggy conditions between the cargo ship, MV Solong, and the tanker, the MV Stena Immaculate, shortly before 11am on Monday.

The defendant's court appearance is likely to be brief, and it is not known if he will enter a plea.

He remains in police custody pending further investigations both by police and other agencies into the circumstances both leading up to the the collision and thereafter.

The  MV Solong - or what remains of the vessel - has been towed away from the scene of the accident off Withernsea in Yorkshire and is now moored four miles off the coast of Mablethorpe while the authorities and salvage personnel consider how next to proceed.