Russian captain involved in US tanker crash appears in UK court

FILE PHOTO: Water flows through a damaged hull of Stena Immaculate oil tanker ship after it collided with a cargo ship off the northeastern coast of England, Britain, March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - The captain of a container ship that crashed into a U.S. tanker earlier this week off Britain's east coast appeared in an English court on Saturday charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

Russian national Vladimir Motin, 59, was captain of the Portuguese-flagged Solong that hit the Stena Immaculate tanker, carrying military jet fuel, on Monday morning.