The Russian captain of the Solong cargo ship that crashed into a US-flagged tanker earlier this week in the North Sea appeared in an English court on Saturday on charges of gross negligence manslaughter.

Stena was loaded with more than 200,000 tons of highly flammable jet fuel for US warplanes, while both vessels were powered by heavy fuel.

Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, has been named as the crew member who is still missing after the crash between the Solong container ship and the US oil tanker, the Crown Prosecution Service said. Thirty-six people from both vessels made it ashore.