Vladimir Mochin, the captain of the Solon vessel, appeared in court over the death of the crew after the cargo ship collided with a US fuel tanker.
British police charged the Russian captain this week with a cargo ship crashing into a US fuel tanker in the North Sea, and were charged with manslaughter and gross negligence over the death of a crew member.
Humberside police said Vladimir Motyn, 59, of Primorsky in St. Petersburg, Russia, was remanded in police custody and would appear in Hal Magistrates Court on Saturday.
On Monday, the Portuguese winding device vessel, which Mochin was captain, slammed Stena’s pure white tanker at full speed while anchored on the coast of Hull in northeastern England. Stena Immaculate carried US military jet fuel.
During a crash that caused a massive fire and explosion, one of Solon’s crew, 38-year-old Philippine national Marc Angelo Pernia, has disappeared and is now “presumed” dead.
“A large-scale search has been conducted by HM Coastguard to find the missing crew and is now estimated to have passed away,” Humberside police said in a statement.
“Families are supported by professionally trained officers and our ideas remain with them during these difficult times,” it added.
The remaining 36 crew members of both ships survived the incident and were taken to the coast.
On Friday, the Russian Embassy in London said on the Telegram channel that the diplomat held a “detailed telephone conversation with the ship’s captain” on Thursday.
“He says he feels good. Interpretation and lawyers are provided to Russian citizens, and employees are also in constant contact,” the embassy wrote, adding that he is “in close contact with the UK’s competent authorities.”
The Coast Guard said Thursday that the rescue company had boarded two vessels to carry out the initial damage assessment.
In an update on Friday, Chief Coast Guard Paddy O’Callaghan said the ship is “stable.”
“Currently, Solon only has small, periodic fire pockets, which raises no excessive concern. O’Callaghan added that there is a continuing “no cause of concern” for contamination caused by crashes, O’Callaghan said, specialist tags with firefighter capabilities remain in the locations of both ships.”
The UK government has ruled out foul plays in the crash, but investigators are still investigating the cause.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Kiel Starmer said the situation was “reasonably included” on Thursday.
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