Russian captain denies manslaughter in North Sea collision as he faces U.K. trial

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LONDON — The Russian captain of a cargo ship that collided with a U.S. tanker in the North Sea pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of one of his crew at a U.K. court hearing on Friday.

Vladimir Motin, 59, from St. Petersburg, appeared by video link from prison for the pretrial hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court. Assisted by a Russian interpreter, he denied a charge of gross manslaughter over the death of 38-year-old Mark Angelo Pernia.

Motin was ordered detained until his next hearing, and his trial was set for Jan. 12.

The Portugal-flagged cargo ship Solong was traveling at about 15 knots (17 mph or 28 kph) when it hit the anchored tanker MV Stena Immaculate about 12 miles (19 kilometers) off the coast of northeast England on March 10, sparking a fire that lasted nearly a week. The tanker was transporting jet fuel for the U.S. military.

Rescuers saved 36 people from both ships. Pernia, from the Philippines, is missing and presumed dead.

U.K. authorities have said that there’s nothing to indicate that the collision was connected to national security.

Environmental damage from the collision was far less than initially feared, though thousands of pellets used in plastics production, known as nurdles, from the ruptured containers on the Solong have since washed up along England’s east coast.

Conservationists say the nurdles aren’t toxic, but can harm animals if ingested.