The Portuguese-flagged Solong had been making its way south from the Scottish port of Grangemouth to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Little said the ship should have gone to the east to avoid other vessels at anchor waiting to enter the Humber Estuary.
“The course taken led to the fatality that this case is all about,” the prosecutor added.
When he came ashore at Grimsby Dock, Motin told police he had sighted the ship and went to switch to manual control of the steering, but it did not work and he had panicked and crashed into the ship, the jury heard.
Little said that the defendant did not alert his own crew or the Stena Immaculate before the collision.
In a WhatsApp conversation with his wife, Motin said: “There has been a disaster and I will be found guilty.”
When asked about the message in a police interview, he said he meant he would be found guilty under maritime navigation rules.
After he was charged with manslaughter, the captain said: “I didn’t do it deliberately.”
The trial continues.