A landmark moment for maritime criminal accountability

James Broomhall, at Grosvenor Law, reports on the conviction of Vladimir Motin, the master of Solong, who was found guilty of manslaughter following the death of a crew member on board the vessel

On 2 February 2026 a jury at the UK's Old Bailey returned a unanimous guilty verdict against Vladimir Motin, the 59-year-old Russian master of the cargo vessel Solong, finding him guilty of gross negligence manslaughter following the death of Filipino seaman Mark Angelo Pernia in one of the most dramatic maritime incidents in British waters in recent memory. Six years' imprisonment, handed down three days later by Andrew Baker J, who described Motin as "a serious accident waiting to happen," brought a measure of legal closure to a tragedy that left a widow, two young children and a body never recovered from the sea.