San Francisco Frontiers - Russian captain in fiery North Sea crash faces UK trial

Vladimir Motin, 59, from St Petersburg, has been charged with one count of gross negligence manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty and his trial at London's Old Bailey court is expected to last several weeks.

He appeared in the courtroom Monday wearing a maroon jumper and glasses, for early legal arguments and the swearing in of a jury, with the full case now set to open on Tuesday.

The cargo ship Motin was in charge of, the Portuguese-flagged Solong, rammed into the jet-fuel-laden Stena Immaculate tanker early on March 10 last year, setting both vessels ablaze and triggering a massive offshore rescue operation.

The US-flagged tanker, which had been chartered by the US military, was anchored 13 miles (21 kilometres) from the port of Hull, northeastern England, at the time of the crash.

One Solong crew member, Mark Angelo Pernia from the Philippines, was lost and presumed dead in the collision, which also sparked fears of environmental damage after a tank containing fuel was ruptured.

The UK government last year ruled out foul play.

- Two-day blaze -

A preliminary report found that "neither the Solong nor Stena Immaculate had a dedicated lookout on the bridge" at the time of the incident and that visibility was "patchy".

The stationary oil tanker was operating "in compliance" with watch requirements for an anchored vessel, its owner Crowley has insisted.

The Solong penetrated one of Stena's cargo tanks, "releasing aviation fuel into the sea and onto the bow of Solong," the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch said in a report published in April.

"The aviation fuel was ignited by the heat generated by the force of the collision," it added.

It took nearly two days to extinguish visible flames on board in a huge firefighting operation. Both vessels were relocated to different ports for salvage operations and damage assessments.

The German company Ernst Russ, which owns the Solong, and Crowley have filed legal claims against each other.

While an environmental disaster from the jet fuel spillage was averted, the coastguard undertook a clean-up operation after discovering clumps of plastic pellets, or nurdles, in the sea and washed ashore.

The nurdles -- tiny pieces of plastic resin which are non-toxic but pose a risk to wildlife -- came from the Solong, which was carrying 15 containers of the pellets.

More than 16 tonnes (16,000 kilograms) of plastics were removed from beaches in northeastern Lincolnshire, according to the local council.

A.Smith--SFF