Captain, 59, charged with gross negligence of manslaughter in connection to explosion on oil tanker off UK coast

Vladimir Motin, the captain of the container ship that crashed into a US oil tanker earlier this week, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

On Monday (10 March) morning, Solong, a Portuguese flagged cargo ship, smashed into the Stena Immaculate off the coast of the UK.

The collision, which occurred in the North Sea, near to Hull, East Yorkshire, saw both ships burst into flames just before 10am.

The US tanker was carrying 220,000 barrels of aviation fuel in 18 containers to be used by its military and was stationary and at anchor when it was struck.

Meanwhile, one Solong crew member remains missing and is presumed to be dead.

Following the crash, UK transport minister Mike Kane told MPs that something went 'terribly wrong' for the crash to happen, but that there was 'no evidence' of foul play.

Shadow transport minister Jerome Mayhew told the PA news agency: “Where military assets are damaged it is vital that motives are fully investigated to exclude foul play.

“The nationality of the captain of the Solong raises further questions about potential motivation that the Government must now get to the bottom of.”

The crash occurred on Monday (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Motin from St Petersburg, Russia, is now in police custody and is expected to appear at Hull Magistrates Court on Saturday (15 March).

A statement said: "An investigation by Humberside Police supported by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) into the collision between a tanker and a cargo vessel in the North Sea, off the coast of East Yorkshire, has resulted in a man being charged.

"The captain of the Solong vessel, Vladimir Motin, 59 years old, of Primorsky, St Petersburg, Russia, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and been remanded in police custody to appear at Hull Magistrates' Court tomorrow.

"On Monday, 10 March, Humberside Police received a report at around 11am that a collision had occurred between the two vessels, resulting in one crew member being reported missing."