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Mikhail Lermontov (ship)
Encyclopedia
MS
Ship prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...
Mikhail Lermontov was an ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
owned by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's Baltic Shipping Company, built in 1972 by V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar
Wismar
Wismar , is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory. The...
, East Germany. She was later converted into a cruise ship
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...
. On February 16, 1986 she ran aground on rocks near Port Gore
Port Gore, New Zealand
Port Gore is a bay and natural harbour at the northern end of the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand. It is located close to the northern tip of the South Island, at the western end of Cook Strait...
in the Marlborough Sounds
Marlborough Sounds
The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of sea-drowned valleys created by a combination of land subsidence and rising sea levels at the north of the South Island of New Zealand...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and sank, resulting in the death of one crew member.
MS Mikhail Lermontov
MS Mikhail Lermontov, launched in 1972, was the last of the five "poet" ships: Ivan FrankoMS Ivan Franko
MS Ivan Franko was a cruise ship owned by the Soviet Union's Black Sea Shipping Company. She was built in 1964 by V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar, East Germany. She was scrapped in 1997 at Alang, India.-External links:...
, Taras Shevchenko, Alexandr Pushkin (now Marco Polo), Shota Rustaveli
MS Shota Rustaveli
MS Shota Rustaveli was a cruise ship, built in 1968 by V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar, East Germany for the Soviet Union's Black Sea Shipping Company and named after the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli. After the fall of the Soviet Union she was handed to Ukraine. In 2000 she was sold to Kaalbye...
and Mikhail Lermontov, named after famous Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, Georgian
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
and Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
writers (Ivan Franko and Taras Shevchenko being Ukrainian, and Shota Rustaveli being Georgian), built to the same design at V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar
Wismar
Wismar , is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory. The...
, East Germany. Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov , a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", became the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death in 1837. Lermontov is considered the supreme poet of Russian literature alongside Pushkin and the greatest...
, born 1814 and died 1841, was known as the "poet of Caucasus."
MS Mikhail Lermontov was originally used as an ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
on the Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
—New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
run. 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.
Start of MS
Mikhail Lermontovs last voyage On February 16, 1986, Mikhail Lermontov was cruising in New Zealand for the CTC cruise company. On that day she left PictonPicton, New Zealand
Picton is a town in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. It is close to the head of Queen Charlotte Sound near the north-east corner of the South Island. The population was 2928 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 72 from 2001...
for the Marlborough Sounds, carrying mostly elderly Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n passengers. The Picton pilot, Captain Don Jamieson (who was also Picton harbourmaster
Harbourmaster
A harbourmaster is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operation of the port facilities.-Responsibilities:Harbourmasters are normally responsible for issuing...
), piloted the ship out of Picton. His presence, and his knowledge of the area, should have assured the safety of MS Mikhail Lermontov.
However, Jamieson believed that the passage at Cape Jackson
Cape Jackson, New Zealand
Cape Jackson is a peninsula in Marlborough, in the South Island of New Zealand. It lies between Queen Charlotte Sound and Cook Strait.Cape Jackson's history involves gold mining, sheep farming, and more recently carbon farming .Cape Jackson is privately owned...
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, Jamieson continued towards the cape. About one mile from the cape, Jamieson made the decision to take MS Mikhail Lermontov through the passage. A Russian officer tried to discourage Jamieson, but the harbour master assured him it would be fine.
Captain Jamieson had earlier in the day been consuming quantities of beer and vodka that contributed to the sinking.
Disaster
At 5.37 pm, travelling at 15 knots, 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 GorePort Gore, New Zealand
Port Gore is a bay and natural harbour at the northern end of the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand. It is located close to the northern tip of the South Island, at the western end of Cook Strait...
. Jamieson hoped he could beach the ship to stop it floating out to sea.
Jamieson beached 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. 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 Mikhail Lermontov was in trouble, were gruffly told that their assistance was not required. Fortunately, 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 several ships in the area, including the LPG
Liquified petroleum gas
Liquefied petroleum gas is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles. It is increasingly used as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant, replacing chlorofluorocarbons in an effort to reduce damage to the ozone layer...
tanker, , (Capt Reedman) and the SeaRail
Interislander
The Interislander is a road and rail ferry service across New Zealand's Cook Strait, owned and operated by state-owned rail operator KiwiRail.The Interislander travels between Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island, forming a road and rail link between New Zealand's two main...
road-rail ferry Arahura
Arahura (ferry)
DEV Arahura is a roll-on roll-off diesel-electric rail ferry built in 1982 for the New Zealand Railways Corporation. She remains in service on the Interislander route across the Cook Strait in New Zealand.-History:...
(Capt John Brew).
As darkness set in, Wellington Radio ordered all passengers to disembark as MS Mikhail Lermontov listed further to starboard. Within 20 minutes of the last passenger being rescued, the ship had disappeared completely. Crew member Pavel Zagladimov died, while 11 of those rescued had minor injuries.
Wreck
MS Mikhail Lermontov rests where she sank, lying on her starboard side at depths ranging about 38 m in. It is popular with Scuba divers and the site is served by local dive shops in PictonPicton
-People:* Cesar Picton , from slave to successful businessman in England* Thomas Picton , Welsh soldier* Robert Pickton , Canadian serial killer-Animal:...
and Kaikoura
Kaikoura
Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 180 km north of Christchurch.Kaikoura became the first local authority to reach the Green Globe tourism certification standard....
.
It is also one of the biggest diveable ship wrecks in the world. The dives range from easy 12 to 18m dives around the wreck, to penetration and decompression dives to depths of 36m.
It is possible to swim inside the ship, although care must be taken and guides familiar with the wreck are highly recommended. Three divers are known to have died while exploring the ship, including one diver whose body is still possibly trapped inside.
External links
- New Zealand Disasters - Shipwreck: Mikhail Lermontov
- The Last Cruise of the Mikhail Lermontov at NZ Maritime Record
- A full length documentary made in 2000, "Destination Disaster: The Sinking of the Mikhail Lermontov". Free to view with Adobe FlashAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
on NZ On ScreenNZ On ScreenNZ On Screen is an online showcase of archival New Zealand television and film. The website is fully funded by NZ On Air and provides free worldwide access to NZ-produced television, film and music videos. Content is streamed and the webpages provide authoritative background information.The site...
. - Day/night Lermontov Wreck Dive Tours Go Dive Marlborough, Picton, New Zealand