The Russian captain of a container ship that crashed into a US oil tanker did “absolutely nothing” to avoid a collision, a jury at the Old Bailey heard.

The Solong's master, Vladimir Motin, 59, of Primorsky, St Petersburg , stands accused of the manslaughter by gross negligence over the death of crew member Mark Angelo Pernia, 38.

His vessel was involved in a fatal collision with the American tanker Stena Immaculate which was anchored off the coast of Yorkshire on March 10 2024.

All 23 people on the tanker were rescued along with 13 crew from the Solong, but Mr Pernia who was working at the front of the ship died -the able-bodied seaman’s body has never been found.

The Solong container ship drifts in the Humber Estuary, off the coast of East Yorkshire following a collision with the MV Stena Immaculate oil tanker

placeholder image — The Solong container ship drifts in the Humber Estuary, off the coast of East Yorkshire following a collision with the MV Stena Immaculate oil tanker

Opening the prosecution’s case on Tuesday, Tom Little KC said the “highly trained” captain, who was responsible for navigating the ship, was on sole watch duty as the Solong approached the Stena Immaculate, which was carrying very large quantities of aviation fuel.

He told the jury: “Despite an obvious collision course the defendant did not deviate his vessel from its path and the impending catastrophe that lay ahead."

He said the Solong was on collision course for longer than 30 minutes and as well as Stena Immaculate becoming visible, using the defendant’s estimates, 12 minutes away, the tanker’s position would have shown up on his radar screen some 36 minutes before.

He told the jury: “However, despite the constellation of information telling the defendant that he needed do something, he did precisely the opposite.

"He did nothing, we say, to avoid the collision. He could and should have acted differently.”