Russian captain ‘did absolutely nothing to avoid’ fatal crash with US oil tanker

Smoke rises from the MV Solong cargo ship in the North Sea, off the coast of Withernsea, east of England, on March 11, 2025 (Picture: AFP via Getty)

A Russian captain did ‘absolutely nothing’ to stop his container ship crashing into a US oil tanker – killing one of his crew – despite being on an ‘obvious collision course’ for more than half an hour, a court heard.

Vladimir Motin, 59, was on sole watch duty when his vessel, the container ship Solong, collided into the US oil tanker the Stena Immaculate on March 10 last year.