Both sides file claims in North Sea collision case

Legal proceedings are set to unfold in the aftermath of last month’s North Sea collision between the containership Solong and the product tanker Stena Immaculate, with owners filing claims against each other.

Court records indicate that Solong‘s owner, Ernst Russ from Germany, filed a legal claim at the Admiralty Court on Thursday against “the owners and demise charterers” of the Stena Immaculate.

The case is the latest to be filed at the court in London after a separate legal claim was lodged at the same court on Monday by the tanker’s owner and manager, Stena Bulk and Crowley, against Ernst Russ’s shipowning entity, MS Solong Schiffahrtsgesellschaft.

Details about either claim have yet to emerge, but a spokesperson for Ernst Russ said the move represents a “usual process for large maritime casualties and another step in working towards the conclusion of this tragic incident”.

On Monday, Ernst Russ also confirmed that it had set up a fund ahead of any verified legal claims against the company following the incident, which saw the 140-m-long, 800 teu boxship hit the 183-m-long tanker while anchored near Hull on March 10.

Meanwhile, an interim report by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) showed that neither vessel had a dedicated lookout on the bridge at the time of the collision.

The report confirmed that Stena Immaculate was at anchor as directed by ABP Vessel Traffic Service Humber and was struck at 09.47 hrs local time by Solong while travelling at 16 knots in patchy conditions with visibility varying between 0.25 and 2.0 nm.

The incident resulted in one crewmember on the Solong, Mark Pernia, missing and presumed dead. He was reported to be in the forward area of the ship at the time of impact. The remaining crew on both ships evacuated to lifeboats and were subsequently recovered by local boats and emergency responders.

Vladimir Motin, the Solong‘s captain, has been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence.

The MAIB report said the captain remained on watch until shortly before 23.00 hrs before handing over to the second officer and going to bed. He returned the bridge at 07.00 hrs and “took over the watch as the lone watchkeeper”, the report added.