The captain of a cargo ship that collided with a tanker in the North Sea has been found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.

Vladimir Motin was the only person on watch duty on the Solong when it hit US tanker Stena Immaculate off the East Yorkshire coast on 10 March 2025, leaving Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, a crew member on the Solong, missing presumed dead.

A trial at the Old Bailey in London heard Motin did not keep a proper lookout and did not use all available means to determine the risk of a collision, or leave enough time to take evasive action.

Motin, 59, from St Petersburg, Russia, is due to be sentenced on Thursday.

After deliberating for more than eight hours, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.

Motin appeared emotionless as it was read out and was remanded back into custody.

Prosecutor Tom Little KC told jurors Pernia’s wife had been about seven months pregnant at the time of his death.

He said she lived in a remote area in the Philippines and would need to make arrangements to travel somewhere with good internet access so that she could watch sentencing proceedings.