SS Admiral Nakhimov
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 SS Admiral Nakhimov sailing under her original name, Berlin III, in 1925. |
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| Career | .svg/40px-Flag_of_Germany_(2-3).svg.png){kind=small}  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | City of Berlin (originally); Admiral Pavel Nakhimov |
| Builder: | Bremer Vulkan for Norddeutscher Lloyd |
| Launched: | March 1925 |
| Out of service: | 1986 |
| Renamed: | 1949: from Berlin III to SS Admiral Nakhimov |
| Reclassified: | Workers' cruise ship (1939-WWII) Hospital ship (WWII) Passenger liner (1957-1986) |
| Homeport: | Bremen, Weimar Republic (originally); Odessa, Ukrainian SSR |
| Fate: | August 31, 1986: sunk in a collision with bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 15,286 gross tons (originally); 17,053 gross tons (after conversion) |
| Length: | 572 ft (174 m) |
| Beam: | (21.02 m) |
| Speed: | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 1,101 + 24 extra passengers: 323 first-class; 290 second-class; 488 third-class; |
| Complement: | 313 + 41 extra crew |
The SS Admiral Nakhimov (Russian: Адмирал Нахимов), originally named Berlin III, was a ship used originally by Germany, but later converted to a Soviet passenger ship. On August 31, 1986, Admiral Nakhimov collided with a large bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev in the Tsemes Bay, near the port of Novorossiysk, Russian SFSR. In total, 423 of the 1,234 people on board died.
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[edit] History
[edit] Career: 1925-1945
The Berlin III was built by Bremer Vulkan at Vegesack, Germany and was completed in March of 1925. The ship was 572 ft (174 m) long, had four decks and a volume of 15,286 gross tons. She originally operated the Bremen - Southampton - Cherbourg - New York City run for the North German Lloyd Line.
On November 12, 1928, the Berlin rescued the passengers and crew of the liner Vestris, which sank off the coast of Virginia en route from New York City to Barbados. An estimated 113 people died in the sinking.
The Berlin was chartered by the Nazis in 1939 as a Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude, KdF) workers' cruising ship and was used as a hospital ship later on in World War II.
[edit] From WWII and onwards
The Berlin was sunk by a mine near Swinemünde in German Pomerania (today Świnoujście Bay, Poland), on February 1, 1945. She was refloated and salvaged by the Soviets in 1949 and renamed Admiral Nakhimov. After her conversion, her size was increased to 17,053 gross tons. She entered passenger service for the Baltic Steamship Company in 1957. The ship was originally converted to carry prisoners to the far east of Russia. It lacked proper ventilation, which was the reason all 90 windows in the cabins were open during the accident. The bulkheads that would have prevented the ship from sinking were removed during the conversion.
The Admiral Nakhimov was named after Admiral Pavel Nakhimov, a Russian naval commander who was killed in the Crimean War in 1855.
During the peak summer travel season, the Admiral Nakhimov operated the Black Sea between Odessa and Batumi, a six-day round trip. She carried an average of 1,000 people per voyage. She was the flagship of the Black Sea passenger fleet for several years until more modern liners entered service.
[edit] Sinking
At 10:00 p.m. Moscow Time on August 31, 1986, the Admiral Nakhimov sailed from Novorossiysk en route to Sochi, its next stop. There were 888 passengers and 346 crew members aboard. Most of the passengers were Ukrainian, with others from Moldavia, the Baltic republics and Central Asia. The captain of the ship was Vadim Markov.
Just minutes into the voyage, the ship's pilot noticed that the large bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev was on a collision course with the Admiral Nakhimov. The Pyotr Vasev was a Japanese-built, 18,604-ton freighter recently acquired by the Soviet Union, and was carrying a cargo of oats and barley. The pilot radioed a warning to the Pyotr Vasev, and the freighter responded, "Don't worry. We will pass clear of each other. We will take care of everything."
Despite the message, Captain Viktor Tkachenko of the Pyotr Vasev did nothing to slow his ship or change course. Convinced that the freighter would pass without incident, Captain Markov of the Admiral Nakhimov retired to his cabin, leaving his second mate Alexander.R. Chudnovsky in charge. From 11 p.m., Chudnovsky radioed Pyotr Vasev several times, asking about her course and her further actions. Chudnovsky changed the ship's course 10 degrees portside. At 11:10 p.m., Chundovsky cried on VHF to the freighter, "Immediately reverse full astern!" When it was clear that the freighter was headed directly for the ship, the Pyotr Vasev's engines were thrown in reverse. The Admiral Nakhimov turned hard to port, but it was too late.
At 11:12 p.m., the Admiral Nakhimov was struck by the Pyotr Vasev eight miles (15 km) from the port at Novorossiysk and two miles (4 km) from shore line, at [1]. While many passengers had gone to bed by this time, some were on deck listening and dancing to a jazz band. They could only watch helplessly as the freighter rammed into the starboard side of the ship at a speed of about 5 knots (9 km/h). The Admiral Nakhimov continued forward with the freighter's bow in its side, ripping a 900 square foot (84 m²) hole in the hull between the engine and boiler rooms.
The Admiral Nakhimov immediately took on a list on her starboard side, and her lights went out upon impact. After a few seconds, the emergency diesel generator powered on, but the lights went out again two minutes later, plunging the sinking ship into darkness. People below decks found themselves lost in the dark and rapidly canting hallways.
There was no time to launch the lifeboats. Hundreds of people dove into the oily water, clinging to lifejackets, barrels and pieces of debris.
The Admiral Nakhimov sank in only seven minutes. Rescue ships began arriving just 10 minutes after the ship went down. The Pyotr Vasev was not badly damaged, and assisted in the rescue effort. Sixty-four rescue ships and 20 helicopters rushed to the scene, and 836 people were pulled from the water. Some people were so slick with fuel oil that they could not keep hold of the hands of their rescuers. Sailors had to jump into the water to save people.
Passengers and crew had had little time to escape, and 423 of the 1,234 on board perished. Sixty-four of those killed were crew members and 359 were passengers.
[edit] Investigation
The Soviet government formed a commission of inquiry to investigate the disaster. It was determined that both Captain Markov of the Admiral Nakhimov and Captain Tkachenko of the Pyotr Vasev had violated navigational safety rules. Despite repeated orders to let the Admiral Nakhimov pass, Tkachenko refused to slow his ship and only reported the accident 40 minutes after it occurred. Captain Markov was absent from the bridge. Captain Tkachenko was found guilty of criminal negligence and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The event was not reported in the news for five days. The survivors were only allowed to send telegrams saying "Alive and well in Novorossiysk." All mention of the wreck was censored until the September 5 when the newspaper Pravda published a grievance for the victims.
The wreck of the Admiral Nakhimov lies on its starboard side in 150 feet (45 m) of water in Tsemes Bay off Novorossiysk.
[edit] Trivia
- The Pyotr Vasev was renamed and now sails under the Maltese flag.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- (Russian) A lot of information on the catastrophe
