Bulgaria (ship)
Encyclopedia
Bulgaria was a class 785/OL800 Russian river cruise ship
(built in Komárno
, Czechoslovakia
) which operated in the Volga-Don
basin. On 10 July 2011, Bulgaria sank in the Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga River
near Syukeyevo
, Kamsko-Ustyinsky District
, Tatarstan
, Russia, with 201 passengers and crew aboard when sailing from the town of Bolgar
to the regional capital, Kazan
. The catastrophe led to 122 confirmed deaths (bodies recovered and identified).
The sinking of Bulgaria is the largest Russian ship disaster since 1986 when the crashed into a cargo ship and 423 people died.
, Czechoslovakia
, in 1955 as Ukraina, and was renamed in February 2010 to Bulgaria after the Volga Bulgaria
. Her length was 80.2 metres (263.1 ft), her beam
was 12.5 metres (41 ft), her draft
was 1.9 metres (6.2 ft), and her power output was 273 kW. She had two engines and two decks. Her cruising speed was 20.5 km/h (12.7 mph; 10.5 kn), and her original passenger capacity was 233 (then reduced after overhaul).
At the time of the sinking, Bulgaria was owned by Kamskoye Rechnoye Parokhodstvo, which leased the ship to OOO Briz, which in turn subleased it to OOO Argorechtur, which operated it, according to media reports, on a bareboat charter
. That means OOO Agrorechtur accepted sole liability for technical maintenance and crew placement. Investigators claim that Argorechtur was operating the cruise ship without a proper licence, and the director of OOO Agrorechtur was arrested on 12 July 2011.
On 22 July with the help of two salvage cranes Bulgaria was partially lifted to the water surface. On 23 July it was moved to the nearby shallow Gulf of Kirelsky, where its hold was sealed. On 25 July the bodies of the last two missing passengers were found in their cabins. On 26 July Bulgaria was placed to floating dock
for further disaster investigation.
Survivors say that during the cruise, Bulgaria encountered stormy weather, and listed sharply to starboard. This was apparently compounded by the captain trying to turn the boat around, and soon water rushed into the vessel through portholes that had been opened because the ship had no air conditioning. According to a survivor, the sinking came without warning, and the vessel "listed to starboard ... and capsized and sank." The boat sank within minutes, plunging nearly 20 metres (65.6 ft) to the river bed. The sinking occurred about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from shore, in the Kamsko-Ustyinsky District
.
Seventy-nine people (56 passengers and 23 crew members) were reported to have survived the sinking. Of those, 76 were rescued by the cruise ship Arabella, a few others were saved by other boats, and one survivor managed to swim to the shore. At the time of the incident, Bulgaria passenger's count is estimated to have been at 201, though she was only rated to carry 120.
Volgoneft
-104 [other sources claim it could have been the Volgoneft-38] and the freighter Arbat) passed by after the Bulgaria had sunk. The passing ships did not stop to help and the ICRF
has launched an official investigation into these claims. In accordance with Russian criminal code, article 270, the captain of a ship that refuses to help in disaster could be sentenced to up to two years of deprivation of freedom. However it may also be that these ships, being heavy freight barges with minimal crews, were not technically capable of stopping while passing or of turning back in acceptable time. The barge owners refused to comment. The technical reasons may not be sufficient to justify the refusal, as the article 270 of the Russian criminal code allows the only reason to refuse help when it could endanger a ship or its crew or passengers. Assistance from the towboat
Dunaisky 66 with two barges that appeared later after accident, was refused by Arabellas captain assuming that the towboat would not have provided useful help and would only hinder the rescue. Both Volgoneft-104 and Volgoneft-38 are equipped with life boats and while coordinates are not precisely tracked they were approximately in the region of the accident.. Investigators did not charge captains of any oil tankers in relation to the Bulgaria disaster as of 15 July 2011; the only captains charged with failure to save are captains of Arbat (Yuri Tuchin) and Dunaisky 66 (Alexander Egorov) . These two ships seem also equipped with life boats.
Evidence suggested that a number of safety violations could have caused or compounded the disaster. According to one survivor, emergency exit doors on the boat had been sealed or locked shut. Investigators also suggested that the boat set sail with a list to the right, possibly due to full sewage or fuel tanks on that side, and with one of its engines not properly functioning. Some survivors told Russian news agencies that they begged the captain to turn round because of the list, but were ignored. There were conflicting reports about whether the boat and the cruise operator were properly licensed for passenger cruises. One of the diesels was not in operation when Bulgaria last set sail, which, according to investigators, is a serious violation of passenger boats regulations. Survivors from the crew claimed that Bulgaria had lost electric power minutes before she sank, which effectively disabled ship controls, and prevented the crew from making a distress call over radio. For some unknown reason the emergency power did not come in. It was not until Arabella picked up first survivors that authorities found out the name of the vessel and the true scale of the disaster.
While the ship was not licensed to carry the number of passengers that were on board, it likely was not technically overloaded as in the past has been tested with as much as 2000 passengers.
on 11 July ordered "a complete check on all means of passenger transport" in Russia in response to the sinking of Bulgaria, and also declared 12 July a national day of mourning
for those killed in the incident.
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
(built in Komárno
Komárno
Komárno is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Komárno was formed from part of a historical town in Hungary situated on both banks of the Danube. Following World War I, the border of the newly created Czechoslovakia cut the historical, unified town in half,...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
) which operated in the Volga-Don
Don River (Russia)
The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov....
basin. On 10 July 2011, Bulgaria sank in the Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga River
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
near Syukeyevo
Syukeyevo
Syukeyevo is a village in Kamsko-Ustyinsky District of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the bank of the Mordovskaya River , 23 kilometers south-west of Kamskoye Ustye, the administrative center of the district. Population: 750 ; 792 ; all ethnic Russians. There is a secondary school...
, Kamsko-Ustyinsky District
Kamsko-Ustyinsky District
Kamsko-Ustyinsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the forty-three in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. It is located in the western portion of the republic and borders with Verkhneuslonsky District in the north, Tetyushsky District in the south, Apastovsky District in...
, Tatarstan
Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
, Russia, with 201 passengers and crew aboard when sailing from the town of Bolgar
Bolgar (town)
Bolgar is a town and the administrative center of Spassky District of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the left bank of the Volga River, from Kazan. Population:...
to the regional capital, Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
. The catastrophe led to 122 confirmed deaths (bodies recovered and identified).
The sinking of Bulgaria is the largest Russian ship disaster since 1986 when the crashed into a cargo ship and 423 people died.
Ship
Bulgaria was built at Slovak shipyard in KomárnoKomárno
Komárno is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Komárno was formed from part of a historical town in Hungary situated on both banks of the Danube. Following World War I, the border of the newly created Czechoslovakia cut the historical, unified town in half,...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, in 1955 as Ukraina, and was renamed in February 2010 to Bulgaria after the Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria, or Volga–Kama Bolghar, is a historic Bulgar state that existed between the seventh and thirteenth centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers in what is now Russia.-Origin:...
. Her length was 80.2 metres (263.1 ft), her beam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
was 12.5 metres (41 ft), her draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
was 1.9 metres (6.2 ft), and her power output was 273 kW. She had two engines and two decks. Her cruising speed was 20.5 km/h (12.7 mph; 10.5 kn), and her original passenger capacity was 233 (then reduced after overhaul).
At the time of the sinking, Bulgaria was owned by Kamskoye Rechnoye Parokhodstvo, which leased the ship to OOO Briz, which in turn subleased it to OOO Argorechtur, which operated it, according to media reports, on a bareboat charter
Bareboat charter
A bareboat charter is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a ship or boat, whereby no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement; instead, the people who rent the vessel from the owner are responsible for taking care of such things....
. That means OOO Agrorechtur accepted sole liability for technical maintenance and crew placement. Investigators claim that Argorechtur was operating the cruise ship without a proper licence, and the director of OOO Agrorechtur was arrested on 12 July 2011.
On 22 July with the help of two salvage cranes Bulgaria was partially lifted to the water surface. On 23 July it was moved to the nearby shallow Gulf of Kirelsky, where its hold was sealed. On 25 July the bodies of the last two missing passengers were found in their cabins. On 26 July Bulgaria was placed to floating dock
Floating dock
A floating dock is a platform or ramp supported by pontoons. It is usually joined to the shore with a ramp that rests upon the dock on rollers, to adjust for the vertical movement of the dock...
for further disaster investigation.
Sinking
On 10 July 2011, Bulgaria was traveling in Tatarstan on the Volga River when she was caught in a storm and sank in several minutes at about 13:58 Moscow time (09:58 UTC), several hours after beginning her cruise.Survivors say that during the cruise, Bulgaria encountered stormy weather, and listed sharply to starboard. This was apparently compounded by the captain trying to turn the boat around, and soon water rushed into the vessel through portholes that had been opened because the ship had no air conditioning. According to a survivor, the sinking came without warning, and the vessel "listed to starboard ... and capsized and sank." The boat sank within minutes, plunging nearly 20 metres (65.6 ft) to the river bed. The sinking occurred about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from shore, in the Kamsko-Ustyinsky District
Kamsko-Ustyinsky District
Kamsko-Ustyinsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the forty-three in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. It is located in the western portion of the republic and borders with Verkhneuslonsky District in the north, Tetyushsky District in the south, Apastovsky District in...
.
Casualties
As of 25 July 2011, the officially confirmed death toll is at 122, with all bodies found so far identified. On 11 July 2011, a government official from the Ministry of Emergency Situations said that the likelihood of finding additional survivors was slim, leaving a presumed total of up to 129 dead. Among the dead were believed to be at least 50 children. On 12 July 2011, the divers recovered bodies of Bulgarias captain Alexander Ostrovsky and his spouse.Seventy-nine people (56 passengers and 23 crew members) were reported to have survived the sinking. Of those, 76 were rescued by the cruise ship Arabella, a few others were saved by other boats, and one survivor managed to swim to the shore. At the time of the incident, Bulgaria passenger's count is estimated to have been at 201, though she was only rated to carry 120.
Passed ships
According to survivors' accounts, two ships (the oil tankerOil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
Volgoneft
Volgotanker
Volgotanker is a Russian company engaged in the business of transporting oil and oil products by tanker ship along the inland waterways and coastal seas of European Russia. It is headquartered in Samara.- History :- Soviet period :...
-104 [other sources claim it could have been the Volgoneft-38] and the freighter Arbat) passed by after the Bulgaria had sunk. The passing ships did not stop to help and the ICRF
Investigative Committee of Russia
The Investigative Committee of Russian Federation is the main federal investigating authority in Russia, formed in place of the Investigative Committee of The Prosecutor of the Russian Federation. it began to operate on January 15, 2011...
has launched an official investigation into these claims. In accordance with Russian criminal code, article 270, the captain of a ship that refuses to help in disaster could be sentenced to up to two years of deprivation of freedom. However it may also be that these ships, being heavy freight barges with minimal crews, were not technically capable of stopping while passing or of turning back in acceptable time. The barge owners refused to comment. The technical reasons may not be sufficient to justify the refusal, as the article 270 of the Russian criminal code allows the only reason to refuse help when it could endanger a ship or its crew or passengers. Assistance from the towboat
Towboat
Not to be confused with the historic boat type with the same name, also called horse-drawn boat.A towboat is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. Towboats are characterized by a square bow with steel knees for pushing and powerful engines...
Dunaisky 66 with two barges that appeared later after accident, was refused by Arabellas captain assuming that the towboat would not have provided useful help and would only hinder the rescue. Both Volgoneft-104 and Volgoneft-38 are equipped with life boats and while coordinates are not precisely tracked they were approximately in the region of the accident.. Investigators did not charge captains of any oil tankers in relation to the Bulgaria disaster as of 15 July 2011; the only captains charged with failure to save are captains of Arbat (Yuri Tuchin) and Dunaisky 66 (Alexander Egorov) . These two ships seem also equipped with life boats.
| Nationality | Dead | Injured |
|---|---|---|
 RussianRussians The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.... |
120 | 13 |
 BelarusBelarus Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,... ian |
2 | 1 |
| Total | 122 | 14 |
Cause
On 11 July, an anonymous source close to the committee investigating the sinking said that the likely cause was portholes that were opened because of the lack of air conditioning on the vessel, which allowed water to enter Bulgaria when the captain attempted to turn the ship during stormy weather.Evidence suggested that a number of safety violations could have caused or compounded the disaster. According to one survivor, emergency exit doors on the boat had been sealed or locked shut. Investigators also suggested that the boat set sail with a list to the right, possibly due to full sewage or fuel tanks on that side, and with one of its engines not properly functioning. Some survivors told Russian news agencies that they begged the captain to turn round because of the list, but were ignored. There were conflicting reports about whether the boat and the cruise operator were properly licensed for passenger cruises. One of the diesels was not in operation when Bulgaria last set sail, which, according to investigators, is a serious violation of passenger boats regulations. Survivors from the crew claimed that Bulgaria had lost electric power minutes before she sank, which effectively disabled ship controls, and prevented the crew from making a distress call over radio. For some unknown reason the emergency power did not come in. It was not until Arabella picked up first survivors that authorities found out the name of the vessel and the true scale of the disaster.
While the ship was not licensed to carry the number of passengers that were on board, it likely was not technically overloaded as in the past has been tested with as much as 2000 passengers.
Government reaction
President Dmitry MedvedevDmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
on 11 July ordered "a complete check on all means of passenger transport" in Russia in response to the sinking of Bulgaria, and also declared 12 July a national day of mourning
Day of Mourning
The Day of Mourning was a day of protest held by Aboriginal Australians on 26 January 1938, the sesquicentenary of British colonisation of Australia...
for those killed in the incident.
See also
- Alexander Suvorov (ship)Alexander Suvorov (ship)The Aleksandr Suvorov is a Valerian Kuybyshev-type Soviet/Russian river cruise ship, cruising in the Volga–Don basin. On 5 June 1983 Suvorov crashed into a girder of the Ulyanovsk railway bridge. The catastrophe led to 177 deaths yet the ship stayed afloat, was restored and still navigates...
External links
- Ministry of Emergency Situations
- "A cruise ship has sunk in Volga River, as of 00.00 80 people were rescued."
- "Search-and-rescue operation is continued on the site of sunk cruise ship in Kazan."
- "As of 02.20 11.07.2007: lists of people on board of the sunk ship in the Rapublic of Tatarstan." (.DOC file)
- "The situation emerged as a result of wreck of the cruise ship in the Republic of Tatarstan (as of 00.30 12.07.2011)."
- "Divers have examined the most part of the middle and main decks of the Bulgaria."
- "10.07.11 at 20:24 EMERCOM Ilyushin-76 plane left for Kazan."
- "Preliminary list of rescued in the accident on the cruise ship “Bulgaria”. The lists are updated regularly."
- "According to preliminary data 84 people have been rescued from 173 on board of the sunk ship in Volga River. One woman died."
- Ministry of Health and Social DevelopmentMinistry of Health and Social DevelopmentThe Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation is an agency of the government of Russia, headquartered in Moscow. As of 2010 Tatyana Golikova is the minister.-External links:* *...