Admiral Nakhimov (ship)

The Ship

The Admiral Nakhimov was originally named Berlin III. She was built by Bremer Vulkan at Vegesack, Germany and was completed in March of 1925. The ship was 572 feet long, had four decks and weighed 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 to Barbados. An estimated 113 people died in the sinking.

The Berlin was chartered by the Nazis in 1939 as a workers' cruising ship and was used as a hospital ship later on in World War II.

The Berlin was sunk by a mine off Swinemünde Bay, Poland on February 1, 1945. She was refloated and salvaged by the Soviets in 1949 and renamed Admiral Nakhimov. After her conversion, she weighed 17,053 gross tons. She entered passenger service for the Baltic Steamship Company in 1957.

The Admiral Nakhimov was named after Admiral Pavel Nakhimov, a czarist 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.

The Sinking

At 10:30 p.m. 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 in charge. The pilot of the Admiral Nakhimov continued to warn the freighter, and the dispatcher at Novorossiysk radioed repeated warnings to both ships. When it was clear that the freighter was headed directly for the ship, the Admiral Nakhimov's engines were thrown in reverse, but it was too late.

At 11:15 p.m., the Admiral Nakhimov was struck by the Pyotr Vasev eight miles from the port at Novorossiysk. 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 10 knots. The Admiral Nakhimov continued forward with the freighter's bow in its side, ripping a 900-square-foot hole in the hull between the engine and boiler rooms.

The Admiral Nakhimov immediately took on a list, 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 slanting 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 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 398 of the 1,234 on board perished. Seventy-six of those killed were crew members and 322 were passengers.

The 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. Captain Markov had gone to bed when he was most urgently needed on the bridge. Both men were found guilty of criminal negligence and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The wreck of the Admiral Nakhimov lies on its starboard side in 150 feet of water in Tsemes Bay off Novorossiysk.

See also

• List of ship and ferry disasters