Maritime Executive: Manslaughter Conviction of Captain for Seafarer’s Death in Stena Allision

One crewmember on the Solong, Mark Angelo Pernia, age 38 of the Philippines, was working near the bow of the containership and presumed to have died from the impact and subsequent fire. His body was never found. The other 12 crewmembers from the Solong were rescued along with the 23 crew from the Stena Immaculate. Prosecutors said it was luck that more were not injured or killed, including saying one crewmember on the Stena Immaculate was up a mast changing a light when the impact occurred. Others were near the point of impact.

Prosecutors argued that Motin waited too long to react to the ship, which was visible on radar. They contended he had over 30 minutes but waited until they were one nautical mile apart. Motin had said on the stand that he initially thought the tanker was slow-moving and not at anchor.

They also argued that Motin was alone on the bridge and had turned off the system that required someone to press a button every 30 minutes or else an alarm would have sounded on the ship due to inactivity on the bridge. He asserted in court that he did not fall asleep or leave the bridge after taking the watch at 0800 that morning. He claimed good visibility, meaning that a lookout was not required.

The prosecution said he had not attempted to slow the containership or summon help as they approached the Stena Immaculate. They further said he did not sound an alarm when the allision became apparent or attempt a crash stop. 

Motin told the court he thought the steering gear was malfunctioning because he had recently been warned of a similar problem on a sister ship. He attempted to turn off and reset the steering gear. When it became evident that they were going to hit the tanker, he said his concern was to avoid the accommodation block for fear of more casualties. 

In court, the captain admitted he now realizes he made a mistake and pressed the wrong button, not turning off the autopilot. He said new stickers had been applied to the controls while he was on vacation, and he found them confusing. The prosecution argued the mistake would have been immediately evident, and he should have been able to correct his mistake.

The Solong would burn for eight days after hitting the tanker and was a total loss, sold for scrap. The Stena Immaculate, because of the actions of its crew, survived with only one tank punctured and was later offloaded. Stena sold the vessel late last year, reporting the buyer intended to repair the ship.