Mikhail Lermontov (ship)
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 Mikhail Lermontov in original construction and livery |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Mikhail Lermontov |
| Namesake: | Mikhail Lermontov |
| Owner: | Baltic Shipping Company[1] |
| Operator: | Baltic Shipping Company[1] |
| Port of Registry: | Leningrad,  Soviet Union[1] |
| Builder: | V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar, East Germany |
| Yard number: | 129[1] |
| Launched: | 31 December 1970[1] |
| Acquired: | 18 March 1972[1] |
| In service: | 21 April 1972[1] |
| Identification: | IMO number 7042318[1] |
| Fate: | Sank 16 February 1986 near Marlborough Sounds |
| Status: | Sunk 1986 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | Ivan Franko class passenger liner |
| Tonnage: | 19,872 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Displacement: | 4,956 metric tons of deadweight (DWT) |
| Length: | 175.77 m (576 ft 8 in) |
| Beam: | 23.60 m (77 ft 5 in) |
| Draught: | 7.80 m (25 ft 7 in) |
| Depth: | 13.50 m (44 ft 3 in)[2] |
| Installed power: | 2×7-cylinder Sulzer-Cegielski diesels combined 15666 kW |
| Propulsion: | Two propellers[3] |
| Speed: | 20 kn (37.04 km/h/23.02 mph) service speed[3] |
| Range: | 8,000 mi (13,000 km)[2] |
| Capacity: | 1334 passengers (maximum)[2] 700 passengers (cruise service)[3] |
| Crew: | 347[2] |
MS Mikhail Lermontov was an ocean liner owned by the Soviet Union's Baltic Shipping Company, built in 1972 by V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar, East Germany. She was later converted into a cruise ship. On February 16, 1986 she ran aground on rocks near Port Gore in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand, and sank, resulting in the death of one crew member.
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[edit] The Mikhail Lermontov
The Mikhail Lermontov, launched in 1972, was the last of the five "poet" ships: Ivan Franko, Taras Shevchenko, Alexandr Pushkin (now Marco Polo), Shota Rustaveli and Mikhail Lermontov, named after famous Ukrainian and Russian writers (Ivan Franko and Taras Shevchenko being Ukrainian), built to the same design at V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar, East Germany. Mikhail Lermontov, born 1814 and died 1841, was known as the "poet of Caucasus."
The crew were Russian, and a detachment of KGB agents was placed on board[citation needed]. Initially, these agents shadowed the crew constantly, ensuring that there were no defections, and to prevent "excessive fraternisation with foreigners". By the 1980s the atmosphere had grown more relaxed and the KGB no longer carried out such intense surveillance, though it is probable that the crew's cabins were still bugged.[citation needed]
The Mikhail Lermontov was originally used as an ocean liner on the Leningrad—New York run.[4] However, the Soviet government realised that there was more money to be made by converting her to a cruise ship, and the accommodation and facilities on board were significantly improved during the 1970s.[citation needed]
[edit] Start of the Mikhail Lermontov's last voyage
On February 16, 1986, the Mikhail Lermontov was cruising in New Zealand for the CTC cruise company. On that day she left Picton for the Marlborough Sounds, carrying mostly elderly Australian passengers. The harbour master of Picton, Don Jamison, conned the ship out of Picton. His presence, and his knowledge of the area, should have assured the safety of the Mikhail Lermontov.
However, Jamison believed that the passage at Cape Jackson was nearly twice as wide as it actually was, and that there were no dangerous rocks or reefs in the passage. Operating without a chart, Jamison proceeded towards Cape Jackson.
Hugging the shoreline to give the Australian passengers a good view of the area, Jamison continued towards the cape. About one mile from the cape, Jamison made the decision to take the Mikhail Lermontov through the passage. A Russian officer tried to discourage Jamison, but the harbour master assured him it would be fine.
[edit] Disaster
At 5.37 pm, travelling at 15 knots, the Mikhail Lermontov struck rocks about 5.5 m below the waterline on her port side. Water poured up into the decks, and the seriously damaged ship limped towards Port Gore. Jamison hoped he could beach the ship to stop it floating out to sea.
Jamison beached the Mikhail Lermontov successfully, but lowering the anchors to keep her there was impossible as the electricity in the ship had failed. As a result, the ship drifted into deeper waters. Water-tight doors were broken open by the pressure of the sea water gushing into the ship. The Mikhail Lermontov was doomed.
As was common in the Soviet Union, the top priority in catastrophes was avoiding negative publicity, even at the cost of human life, hence no distress signal was sent to the local authorities, and rescue ships, seeing that the Mikhail Lermontov was in trouble, were gruffly told that their assistance was not required. Luckily for the passengers, the rescue ships knew that their assistance was required, and stood by to evacuate the passengers.
By 8.30 pm, many passengers were being loaded on to these rescue ships of their own accord, but the Russian crew refused to disembark. The passengers were put onto an LPG tanker that was in the area, the MV Tarihiko.
As darkness set in, Wellington Radio ordered all passengers to disembark as the Mikhail Lermontov listed further to starboard. Within 20 minutes of the last passenger being rescued, the ship had disappeared completely. Crew member Parvee Zagladimov died, while 11 of those rescued had minor injuries.
[edit] The Ship on the bottom of the sea
The Mikhail Lermontov rests where she sank, lying on her starboard side at depths ranging from 25 to 30 m in dark, murky water. Popular with SCUBA divers, the site is served by local dive shops in Picton and Kaikoura. It is possible to swim inside the ship, although care must be taken and guides familiar with the wreck are recommended. Three divers are known to have died while exploring the ship, including one diver whose body is still possibly trapped inside.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Asklander, Micke. M/S Mikhail Lermontov (1972) (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
- ^ a b c d Mihail Lermontov. The Soviet Fleet. infoflot.ru. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
- ^ a b c Miller, William H. Jr. (1995). The Pictorial Encycpedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994. Mineola: Dover Publications, p. 74. ISBN 0-486-28437-X.
- ^ Cruisepage.com ship profiles: Marco Polo, retrieved 22. 11. 2007
- ^ Kevin Dekker. Vodka on the Rocks - Part 3. Benthic Canada. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
[edit] External links
- New Zealand Disasters - Shipwreck: Mikhail Lermontov
- The Last Cruise of the Mikhail Lermontov at NZ Maritime Record
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