Trial of civil claim over North Sea tanker collision could be held in 2026

The trial of a civil claim against the owner of a container ship that collided with a US tanker in the North Sea will not be held before October next year, the High Court has heard.

The Portuguese-flagged Solong crashed into the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate off the East Yorkshire coast on March 10, causing the loss of more than 17,500 barrels of jet fuel.

Stena Bulk Marine Services USA LLC, which owns the Stena Immaculate, and Crowley-Stena Marine Solutions LLC, the maritime company managing the ship, took legal action later in March against MS Solong Schiffahrtsgesellschaft MBH & Co KG, a subsidiary of Ernst Russ, which owns the Solong.

At a preliminary hearing in the case on Friday before Mr Justice Bright, Alex Carless, for MS Solong, said both sides had agreed a trial of the claim would not be heard “before October 2026”.

Rescuers saved 36 people from both ships following the collision, with one sailor from the Solong, Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, declared missing and presumed dead.

The Solong’s captain, Vladimir Motin, 59, of St Petersburg, Russia, has since denied gross negligence manslaughter and is due to face trial at the Old Bailey in January.

Hearings in the criminal proceedings have been told the collision happened at about 9.47am on March 10, at 10.2 nautical miles from the nearest point on the coast.

The Stena Immaculate anchored at the point of the collision at 6.50pm on the previous evening, with the Solong travelling at about 15 knots when it hit the port side of the other vessel.

Stena Bulk said following the incident that 17,515 barrels of jet fuel were lost due to the collision and the subsequent fire.