Admiral Nakhimov ship wreck. An unprecedented tragedy at sea or the fate of the liner "Admiral Nakhimov" (ship "Berlin")

30 years ago, on August 31, 1986, the passenger liner Admiral Nakhimov sank in Novorossiysk Bay. At 11:12 p.m., the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev collided with the Admiral Nakhimov. The liner suffered extensive damage to the hull, water poured into the open portholes, and within 7-8 minutes it sank. As a result of the disaster, 423 people died, including 359 tourists and 64 crew members. According to experts, the cause of the tragedy was the incorrect actions of the captains of both ships.

The passenger liner "Admiral Nakhimov" was built in Bremen (Germany) in 1925 and was originally named "Berlin". At that time, German engineers did not use welding, and the entire body was riveted. Displacement - 9000 tons; length - 174.3 m; width - 21.1 m; height - 11.8 m; mechanism power - 12000 l. With.; speed - 16 knots. Crew - about 270 people, passenger capacity - 1500 people. The ship made transatlantic crossings until 1938, then it was used as a cruise ship on voyages to Spitsbergen or the Mediterranean Sea.

With the outbreak of World War II, she was used as a hospital ship and troop transport. In January 1945, the steamship Berlin, under heavy guard, approached Libau to evacuate part of the troops from the encircled German Courland group. On January 31, 1945, in the Pomeranian Bay, on the Swinemünde roadstead, the Berlin hit a mine, and the ship was sunk. When attempting to raise the ship at the beginning of 1947, an explosion occurred again, and the ship sank to the bottom again. The ship was lifted for the second time on September 17, 1947. Then the ship received a new name - “Admiral Nakhimov”, and was later taken to the dock of the Kronstadt plant for partial repairs. From 1949 to 1957 "Admiral Nakhimov" underwent a major overhaul in the GDR.

Since 1957 - as part of the passenger fleet of the USSR, the shipowner is the Black Sea Shipping Company. The first captain under the Soviet flag was Nikolai Antonovich Sobolev (he was the permanent captain until 1978). The ship was very popular among passengers. "Admiral Nakhimov" carried out several secret missions. So, in 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis, the Admiral Nakhimov was hired to transport soldiers to Cuba. In 1979, two secret flights took place: Odessa - Cuba (Matanzas) - Ethiopia (Assab), with a total duration of about six months, to deliver Cuban soldiers to participate in military operations in Africa. The ship was also used for practice by students of higher and secondary specialized maritime educational institutions.

The Admiral Nakhimov underwent its last scheduled repair and classification in January-April 1985 in Varna. In accordance with the cruise plan, the liner spent the entire day on August 31 in the port of Novorossiysk. It was a hot day. Numerous excursions tired the cruise participants. The ship became very hot in the sun. Upon returning to their cabins, passengers opened the portholes, including those on the lower decks, to ventilate and cool the premises. With the onset of evening coolness, cultural and entertainment programs began, and the crew prepared the ship for departure.

At 10 p.m. on August 31, 1986, the ship under the command of Captain V.G. Markov departed from the pier. The next port of call was Sochi. The weather was beautiful: calm sea, light breeze and good visibility. And sailing along the Caucasian shores was commonplace for the crew. And at this time, heading 58 degrees at a speed of 11.5 knots, the bulk carrier “Peter Vasev” was traveling from Canada to Novorossiysk with a cargo of grain of about 30 thousand tons. The bulk carrier was commanded by Captain V.I. Tkachenko. At 11 p.m., “Admiral Nakhimov” set a course of 160 degrees. Captain Markov instructed the watchman and went down from the bridge to the cabin. On the ship "Peter Vasev" the watchman received information about the course of "Admiral Nakhimov" and a request to skip it. At that moment, Tkachenko climbed onto the bridge and, after listening to the information, confirmed that he was ready to let the cruise ship through.

And at 23:12 a tragedy occurred - a strange collision of ships at an angle close to a straight line. The blow was struck on the starboard side of the “Admiral Nakhimov” by the upper part of the stem of the motor ship “Petr Vasev” above the waterline and the bulb (a part of the ship’s bow protruding just below the waterline) below the waterline in two compartments: the diesel generator and the engine room. Having suffered extensive damage to the hull on the starboard side, the Admiral Nakhimov sank a few minutes after the impact. Open portholes near the waterline and unclosed clinket watertight doors in the main transverse watertight bulkheads, which should have been closed before leaving the port, contributed to the fact that the ship quickly sank under the water. At the crash site, about 1,000 people were on the surface of the water at the same time.

"Peter Vasev" survived and participated in the rescue of people. At this time, the pilot boat LK-90 was coming from the port towards “Peter Vasev” to guide the dry cargo ship to the pier. Seeing the ship tilting to the starboard side, the captain of the boat O. Lyakh immediately shouted into the air: “Nakhimov” lay on board!” At 23:35, the LK-90 approached the scene of the disaster and began rescuing people, simultaneously radioing that tugs and rescue boats would be needed. The captain of the port of Novorossiysk, G.L. Popov, immediately ordered all vessels to proceed to the area of ​​the accident to save people. The first to arrive at the scene of the disaster were tugboats, raid boats, small passenger boats of the Rainbow type, and passenger hydrofoils Kometa. At the same time, the command to take off and proceed to the disaster area was sent to border boats.

As a result of the disaster, 423 people died, including 359 tourists and 64 crew members. Not everyone was found and brought to the surface. 64 dead remained under water forever. Two divers died while working in the premises of the sunken ship. The area, bounded by a circle with a radius of 500 meters, the center of which is the site of the sunken steamship Admiral Nakhimov, is officially the burial place of the victims of the disaster.

According to experts, the cause of the tragedy was the incorrect actions of the captains of both ships. In March 1987, in Odessa, after almost six months of investigation, the trial of captains V. Markov and V. Tkachenko took place. Both were found guilty under Art. 85 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. The captains received 15 years in prison. In November 1992, by decrees of the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, both captains, one of whom served his sentence in Russia, the other in Ukraine, were pardoned and released.

On the high slope of Cape Doob in Tsemes Bay, near the lighthouse, a memorial sign was erected in 1987 in memory of the tragic death of the steamship Admiral Nakhimov. It contains a clock that was recovered from a sunken ship and stopped at the time of the tragedy. On the cast iron stele there is an inscription: “To those who died in the shipwreck of the steamer “Admiral Nakhimov” on August 31, 1986.” On the cast mourning plates are the names of the deceased passengers and crew members.

The official version of the disaster raised many doubts, so several alternative versions of the cause of the death of Admiral Nakhimov appeared. Thus, the investigation made the captains the “switchmen”, but the government commission and the investigation did not consider that the higher authorities could be guilty. The ship was 60 years old and obsolete. In accordance with international conventions, the design of a passenger ship must ensure its buoyancy, even if at least two compartments are flooded. “Nakhimov” could no longer be sent to sea. On July 8, 1986 (almost two months before the disaster), the shipping company drew up a report: the ship was not suitable for further use. However, on this old ship, on the instructions of the head of the Black Sea Shipping Company S. Lukyanchenko, who signed the same act, 1,200 passengers were boarded and sent to sea. Thus, management mistakes of higher authorities did not lead to new criminal cases or at least resignations.

It was also noted that until the very moment of the collision, Tkachenko practically did not leave the SARP (automated radar plotting system). And the device showed a discrepancy with the ship, which Tkachenko considered “Nakhimov”, by 2 miles. In addition, according to the data received, the bearing also increased. The position of the unknown vessel, judging by the instruments, created the illusion of an absolutely safe situation. Researcher Vladimir Chuev put forward the use of microwaves.

The collision occurred at the end of summer. Often this time coincides with an increase in solar activity. It happens that it was on such days and nights that phantom targets suddenly appeared on radar screens and, conversely, real targets disappeared. Chuev carefully studied the collection “Solar Data” of the USSR Academy of Sciences. And then it turned out: since August 17, 1986, the readings of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory revealed a sharp jump in electromagnetic radiation from space, equal to twenty percent. However, it was not recorded by reference observatories in Japan and Canada. This discrepancy in the data of the reference observatories and the Crimean observatory lasted until September 1. And then everything returned to normal. After analyzing these facts, Chuev came to the conclusion: the region of Crimea and the North Caucasus (including Tsemes Bay and Novorossiysk) was affected not by solar radiation, but by unknown directed electromagnetic radiation. It was sent from afar, perhaps through an artificial Earth satellite. Possibly through intelligence systems such as AWACS. There is also indirect confirmation. Before the tragedy in Tsemes Bay, on the ships “Heroes of Sevastopol”, “Burgas” and on other ships, navigators several times registered false targets on radars. In some cases, a situation was created where a collision was miraculously avoided.

Thus, there is a version that the shipwreck near Novorossiysk is the result of the use of microwave weapons. This version is superimposed on a chain of strange disasters in the late USSR (for example, the Chernobyl disaster), which generally led to the destabilization of society and the destruction of Soviet civilization. And this was beneficial to the external and internal enemies of the Soviet Union.

There are other versions of the tragedy. Thus, professor from St. Petersburg Alexey Sinyakov put forward the hypothesis of the so-called local geophysical resonance (LGR). As a flight safety specialist, he believes that FGR has caused many disasters: in the air, on land, under water (in particular, the fire on the Komsomolets nuclear submarine). On the evening of August 31, 1986, a geophysical resonance could manifest itself in the Black Sea: an unusual glow of the atmosphere was observed, and two hours after the death of Nakhimov, a strong earthquake occurred in the western part of the sea. During a geophysical resonance, a person managing a complex technical object loses the opportunity to accurately assess the situation and make the right decision. This can explain the inappropriate behavior of Captain Tkachenko.

Two miles from Cape Doob, almost in the waters of Novorossiysk Bay, the passenger ship Admiral Nakhimov sank. There were 1,234 people on board, 423 of whom are considered dead. The bodies of many of them have never been found. The causes of the disaster also remain a mystery, although the “switchmen” were quickly appointed and brought to justice. Nevertheless, several versions have crystallized over the past years.

The switchmen were found quickly

At 22.00 the motor ship "Admiral Nakhimov" departed from the pier of the Novorossiysk sea terminal and headed for Sochi. At 22.20, the bridge received information about the approaching cargo ship “Peter Vasev” on a collision course. According to the Rules for Preventing Collisions at Sea (RPSS), the Admiral Nakhimov should have let him through, but the controller of the coastal traffic control post intervened and gave the command to Pyotr Vasev to let the “passenger” through. Bulk cargo captain Victor Tkachenko confirmed to his colleague from “Admiral Nakhimov” Vadim Markov, that will let him through. However, at 23.12, the “Peter Vasev” crashed with its bow at a right angle into the starboard side of the steamer, cutting a hole 8x10 meters in it. After 8 minutes, the liner plunged into the depths of the sea.

Why did the port dispatcher order the captains to violate the PPSS? Why didn’t Viktor Tkachenko give way to “Admiral Nakhimov”? Finally, for what reasons did the liner sink like a stone, although in accordance with international conventions the design of a passenger ship should ensure its buoyancy, even if at least two compartments were flooded? None of these questions were answered by the government commission, which was headed member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee Heydar Aliyev, gave no answers. Long before the completion of the investigation, much less the trial, she determined: the shipwreck occurred as a result of the negligence of the captains. Two months after the tragedy, this conclusion was enshrined in a resolution of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. And in March 1987, a trial was held, which accepted the “insightful” assessment of party officials: the captains received 15 years in prison and 40 thousand rubles in fines in compensation for damages.

The party, as well as the court, did not appreciate the activities Minister of the Navy, member of the CPSU Central Committee Timofey Guzhenko, leaders of the Black Sea Shipping Company. But it was not without their superiors’ knowledge that a 60-year-old ship was transporting passengers, which could not have been allowed to go beyond the port harbor.

On July 8, 1986 (almost two months before the disaster), the shipping company drew up a report: the ship was not suitable for further use. But it was precisely this “old galosh” that, as directed Head of the Black Sea Shipping Company S. Lukyanchenko, who signed the same act, boarded 1,200 passengers and sent them to sea, “satisfying the state’s needs for passenger transportation.”

As already mentioned, a passenger ship must remain afloat even if any two compartments are completely flooded. Contrary to all conventions, “Nakhimov” did not possess these qualities. Theoretically, it could remain afloat with only one flooded compartment (theoretically, because due to old age it completely rotted). The blow of “Peter Vasev” fatally hit the bulkhead separating the two compartments. Therefore, both of them were instantly flooded. The inability to use lifeboats played a killer role (it took up to half an hour to lower just one in ideal conditions, but with a list of only 1-2 degrees, the descent became impossible).

Microwave weapons were used against ships

Not all ends meet in the charges brought against the captains. The trial, and before it the investigation, left without investigation a key fact, in the opinion of many naval experts: during the period of increasing emergency, the mark of a third vessel was observed on the screens of radar stations, which was never identified.

Until the very moment of the collision, Tkachenko practically did not leave the SARP (automated radar plotting system). Oddly enough, the device showed a discrepancy with the ship, which Tkachenko considered “Nakhimov”, by 2 miles. In addition, according to the data received, the bearing also increased. The position of the unknown vessel, judging by the instruments, created the illusion of an absolutely safe situation.

Tkachenko’s testimony did not interest lawyers, but it still gives some scientists and practitioners a reason for investigative work. Associate Professor of the Krasnodar Polytechnic Institute Vladimir Chuev put forward such a hypothesis. The collision, as is known, occurred at the end of summer. Often this time coincides with an increase in solar activity. It happened that it was on such days and nights that phantom targets suddenly appeared on radar screens and, conversely, real targets disappeared.

Chuev carefully studied the collection “Solar Data” of the USSR Academy of Sciences. And then it turned out: since August 17, 1986, the readings of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory revealed a sharp jump in electromagnetic radiation from space, equal to twenty percent. However, it was not recorded by reference observatories in Japan and Canada. This discrepancy in the data of the reference observatories and the Crimean observatory lasted until September 1. And then everything returned to normal.

After analyzing these facts, Chuev came to the conclusion: the region of Crimea and the North Caucasus (including Tsemes Bay and Novorossiysk) was affected not by solar radiation, but by unknown directed electromagnetic radiation. It was sent from afar, perhaps hundreds and thousands of miles through an artificial Earth satellite. Or maybe through reconnaissance systems like AWACS, which are equipped with special microprocessors and can work with any radar so that false targets appear on its screen and true ones disappear.

By the way, before the tragedy in Tsemes Bay, on the ships “Heroes of Sevastopol”, “Burgas” and on other ships, navigators several times registered false targets on radars. In four cases, a situation was created where a collision was miraculously avoided.

Chuev does not undertake to judge whose hands this was. But, in his opinion, the shipwreck near Novorossiysk is the result of the use of microwave weapons via satellite.

Alexander Trusov, who then served in the KGB border troops, suggests that microwave weapons were used to eliminate a high-ranking KGB official by his own comrades. Really died that night Head of the KGB Department for the Odessa Region, Major General Krikunov with his family, who, after the Nakhimov left the pier, was taken aboard the ship by boat. However, the circumstances of his death remained unknown. And the appearance of Krikunov on board was quite unexpected. He made the decision about this in Moscow, at the Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR, on the day the Nakhimov sailed from Odessa. The fact of his death was connected with everything. They wrote about the revenge of the corrupt party nomenklatura, and about the attempt to transfer a large shipment of contraband, and about the investigation into the facts of the export of military equipment through the Novorossiysk port.

Professor from St. Petersburg Alexey Sinyakov The participation of any special services in the tragedy was taken out of the equation. He put forward the hypothesis of the so-called local geophysical resonance (LGR). A flight safety specialist, he believes that FGR has caused many disasters - in the air, on land, under water (in particular, the fire on the Komsomolets nuclear submarine). On the evening of August 31, 1986, a geophysical resonance could manifest itself in the Black Sea: an unusual glow of the atmosphere was observed, and two hours after the death of the Nakhimov, a strong earthquake occurred in the western part of the sea. During geophysical resonance, a person managing a complex technical object loses the opportunity to accurately assess the situation and make the right decision. Doesn’t this explain the inappropriate behavior of Captain Tkachenko: after all, it took only a minute and a half to complete the “last moment” maneuver (for example, turning the Vasev to the right of the accepted course).

There are many other versions that explain the strange behavior of the captains at the time of the disaster.

The victims were forgotten

After 1991, justice for the convicted “switchmen” was restored to some extent. They were pardoned and released in 1992. Vadim Markov returned to the Black Sea Shipping Company, where he took the position of captain-mentor. Viktor Tkachenko emigrated to Israel with his family.

Unfortunately, over the past years, no attempts have been made to raise the remains of the dead sailors and passengers of the Admiral Nakhimov. People started talking about the sunken ship only when diesel fuel started leaking from its fuel tanks. However, there is nothing yet available to organize a serious underwater expedition.

But perhaps the most neglected by the state were the living victims of the disaster—the relatives and friends of the victims. They received no compensation or insurance. True, in Odessa, where Admiral Nakhimov was assigned, relatives created a fund to help the families of the victims. But he now drags out a miserable existence, and does not include Russian victims at all, since Odessa now finds itself in another country.

In Moscow I met with Olga Klementyevna Kuzma, whose son Pavel served as a sailor on the Admiral Nakhimov and died heroically during the disaster. There are living witnesses who say that at the time of the collision Pavel Kuzma was on watch on the upper deck and could easily leave the sinking ship. However, the sailor went to save the passengers, diving into the flooded cabins several times until he remained in one of them forever.

“Pavlik was never found,” Olga Klementyevna told me. “I was given a container with sand and silt from the bottom at the site of the ship’s sinking and three hundred rubles for a symbolic funeral. Once every two or three years, when funds allow, I go to Novorossiysk, where on August 31 the relatives of our victims gather. Thanks to the Novorossiysk authorities, who provide cars, a boat, food at the sailor’s club, and housing. But saving money for travel becomes more difficult every year. Shortly before the tragedy, I retired, and Pavlik said: “Nothing, now I will help you.” He died in the line of duty, and now there is no one to help me...

This is the sad fate of not only Olga Klementyevna. The state has forgotten about the families of those who lie at the bottom along with Admiral Nakhimov. Grandiose plans for perestroika, then chaotic Russian reforms, overshadowed this tragedy. But such tragedies have no statute of limitations. By the way, let us remind you that the descendants of those who died on the Titanic still receive benefits.

From the "SP" dossier

The passenger liner "Admiral Nakhimov" was built in Bremen (Germany) in 1925 and was originally named "Berlin".

In 1938 she was transferred to the German Navy and converted into a hospital ship. On January 31, 1945, it was blown up by two mines and on February 1 by another, after which it sank off Swinemünde.

In 1946-1947, it was recovered by Soviet divers and became the property of the USSR as reparations from Germany. In 1951-1957 it was restored and renamed “Admiral Nakhimov”. In 1957, it was transferred from the Baltic to the Black Sea, becoming the largest Black Sea liner.

Displacement: 9000 tons

Length: 174.3 m

Width: 21.1 m

Mechanism power: 12000 hp.

I. Background of the steamship "Admiral Nakhimov". The steamship "Admiral Nakhimov" was built in 1925 in Germany. Previously it was called “Berlin”. Until 1939, Berlin made regular flights across the Atlantic. And from 1939 to 1945 she was part of the German armed forces as a medical ship. In the same year, at the mouth of the Svin River, the ship hit a mine (according to another version, it was torpedoed by a submarine) and sank along the deck. Since 1946, it was transferred to the Soviet Union as part of reparations.

In 1947, the ship received its new name - “Admiral Nakhimov”. The ship made cruise voyages along the Crimean-Caucasian line between the ports of Odessa, Yalta, Novorossiysk, Sochi, Sukhumi, Batumi, and sometimes made trips to Cuba and Africa.

“Admiral Nakhimov” is an Italian-built motor ship, taken as a trophy after World War II. The ship has been working on internal routes for a long time and has essentially served its day. But, it was probably a pity to part with the beautiful steamship, the interior decoration of which corresponded to the passengers’ ideas about luxury and comfort of the 1930s: mahogany trim, carpet runners, mirrors. However, the design of the steamship itself has long failed to meet the requirements of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, adopted in 1948. And at the beginning of the summer of 1986, the ship was generally declared unfit for use, or even for repair. However, the ship sailed and carried passengers. It was commanded by the experienced captain V.G. Markov, who for thirty years of service in the fleet was awarded the honorary title “Best Captain of the Black Sea Shipping Company.”

II. The day of the tragedy.

On August 31, 1986 at 22.00, the steamer "Admiral Nakhimov" with passengers on board departed from the pier of the port of Novorossiysk and followed the exit from Tsemes Bay, heading to Sochi. There were 1,234 people on board: 888 passengers and 346 crew members. At the same time, the cargo ship “Peter Vasev” was entering Tsemes Bay.

"Peter Vasev" was a specialized ship for transporting grain. It was built in Japan in 1981 and equipped with the most modern navigation instruments, including equipment for automatically processing information related to the divergence of ships. Let us add that such vessels - bulk carriers - are noticeably different from ordinary dry cargo ships due to their higher strength.

On board the ship there were about 30 thousand tons of barley from Canada. The ships approached each other on intersecting courses. Their total speed was over 23 knots, or 43 kilometers per hour. In accordance with the rules, the steamship "Admiral Nakhimov", which discovered the oncoming motor ship "Peter Vasev", had to give way to it (stop or turn to the side). The rule is the same as when driving cars at an unregulated intersection, elementary not only for the captain of the ship, but also for the bus driver. At the same time, “Peter Vasev” in this situation had to go at the same speed without changing course. In addition, ships leaving Tsemes Bay, in accordance with the rules in force here, must adhere to the right (western) part of the bay, and ships entering it - to the left (eastern) side, when viewed from the shore.

However, the steamer “Admiral Nakhimov” did not go straight out to sea and then turn towards the Caucasian coast, but immediately set a course near Cape Doob and further along the coast towards Sochi in an eastern direction, that is, it did not go out on its own side of the bay. Since the “Peter Vasev” did not violate the rules in this sense and entered the bay, correctly adhering to its eastern side, the ships began to approach each other on intersecting courses. In this situation, the steamship “Admiral Nakhimov” only had to turn 25-30 degrees to the right and the ships would freely move apart on their left sides. But the captain of the Admiral Nakhimov did not want to act by these rules.

He did not change course and preferred to enter into radiotelephone negotiations with the captain of the ship "Peter Vasev". Through the mediation of the coastal ship traffic control post, he agreed that the steamer Admiral Nakhimov would follow the same course at the same speed, and the Pyotr Vasev would give way to him. In other words, one captain proposed to violate the rules of maneuvering, and the other captain and the shore post agreed to this. But the captain of the ship “Admiral Nakhimov” did not limit himself to agreeing to commit an offense. He instructed his watchman, the second mate, to perform the illegal maneuver, and he himself went from the bridge to the cabin and remained there until the collision.

The second assistant, apparently understanding the illegality of this agreement, repeatedly called the motor ship "Peter Vasev" by radiotelephone and again asked to confirm that it would give way to the "Admiral Nakhimov". He received his last confirmation at 23:05, 7 minutes before the collision.

The captain of the ship “Peter Vasev” also played a significant role in creating the dangerous situation. He agreed without hesitation to break the agreement when at 22:47 a radiotelephone conversation took place with the coastal post and Admiral Nakhimov.

If the captain of the motor ship "Peter Vasev" visually observed the situation of the rapid rapprochement of two large ships, he would inevitably feel a threat. But he did not observe the surrounding situation, but looked steadily at the screen of the SDRP (automatic radar plotting system), where real ships are represented as luminous points moving relative to each other. This phenomenon, known as “radar hypnosis,” has played an insidious role with more than one hundred captains. While in such “hypnosis,” the captain loses the ability to connect the picture on the radar screen with reality.

Only at 23:05 the captain of the ship “Peter Vasev”, under the influence of persistent requests from the second mate from the ship “Admiral Nakhimov”, looked away from the SARN screen and ordered the speed to be reduced to medium, although the distance between the ships did not exceed two miles. The motor ship "Petr Vasev", meanwhile, continued to follow the same course, although on the ARPA screen, and it was visually visible that the bearing on the steamer "Admiral Nakhimov" practically did not change. This meant that the ships must converge at one point, where a collision would occur.

The best maneuver in this situation would be to put the rudder to starboard and get out of the way of the Admiral Nakhimov. Less effective, but useful, could have been an immediate “full speed back” at the moment when at 23:05 the captain of the ship “Peter Vasev” saw the real state of affairs. However, instead of full reverse, he reduced it from full to medium forward, although with such a large mass of the ship and cargo, it is impossible to reduce speed for several minutes. In other words, a giant ship was moving at high speed towards the ship, where there were hundreds of people.

At 23:07, 5 minutes before the collision, the captain reduced the speed to low, and after another half a minute he gave a “stop”. Only at 23:09 he gave “small back”, then “medium” and then “full back”.

But it was too late. It takes much longer to start the car from full forward to full rear than was available in a real-life situation. The propeller of the motor ship "Peter Vasev" had barely gained momentum in reverse when the collision occurred. The bow of the ship crashed almost at a right angle into the starboard side of the steamer Admiral Nakhimov. The powerful bulb of the Peter Vasev punched a huge hole in the hull of the Admiral Nakhimov, which grew even larger due to the fact that the steamer, under the influence of the machines, was rushing forward, and the bulb that entered its hull tore the skin, spreading the hole to neighboring compartments.

It is worth mentioning one more technical detail that played an important role in the tragedy. Openings are made in the transverse watertight bulkheads that provide buoyancy to the vessel to allow people to move from compartment to compartment. In safe sailing conditions, these openings remain open, but in the event of the slightest threat to safety, in particular the entry and exit of a ship from the port, the openings are closed with a so-called clinket door - a special waterproof shield. And on the Nakhimov, according to some experts, the clinker doors in the transverse bulkheads were open, and the water pouring into the hole could quickly spread from compartment to compartment.

III. Crash.

There was a collision. The lights on the ship immediately went out, and people panicked. The steamer began to fall on the starboard side. None of the passengers could understand anything: pitch darkness, roar, unexpected roll of the ship. However, mechanic V. Belan, who was off duty, managed to start the emergency diesel generator in the aft part of deck A - the emergency lighting started working, which worked for only 2 minutes. These few minutes saved the lives of many passengers. Someone was able to open the door of their cabin and save their children, someone was lucky to find a way out of the confusing labyrinth of passages and corridors of the ship, others at this time managed to put on life jackets and rush to their salvation - up!

Captain Markov gave the order to launch the boats, but the roll turned out to be so strong that many of the craft went under the water. The best position was to jump off the sinking ship. Tragic moments followed: “Admiral Nakhimov” was hiding under water. Six minutes later it disappeared from the surface, taking with it 423 lives - passengers and crew members. At the crash site, about 800 people were simultaneously floundering on the surface of the water, stained with paint and fuel oil, and many objects and debris were floating.

At this time, the pilot boat LK-90 with pilot M. Karpov was coming from the port towards “Peter Vasev” to guide the dry cargo ship to the pier. Seeing the ship tilting to the starboard side, the captain of the boat O. Lyakh immediately shouted into the air: “Nakhimov lay on board!” At 23:35, the LK-90 approached the scene of the disaster and began rescuing people, simultaneously radioing that tugs and rescue boats would be needed.

The ship collision was immediately reported to the captain of the port of Novorossiysk G.L. Popov, who immediately, by telephone, ordered all watercraft to proceed to the area of ​​the accident to save people. The first to arrive at the scene of the disaster were tugboats of the port fleet, raid boats, small passenger boats of the "Rainbow" type, and passenger hydrofoil ships "Kometa". At the same time, the command to take off and proceed to the disaster area was sent to border boats.

The LK-90 was already performing well at the crash site, carrying about 118 people. Sinking dangerously, the boat began to slowly turn around and pick up speed in the opposite direction. Some of the passengers were later transferred to other ships that had arrived in the area of ​​the accident by that time. In total, 64 floating units took part in the rescue operation in the disaster area.

The command to save people was also given to the cargo ship. Tkachenko ordered to proceed at low speed to the area of ​​the accident. The wind grew stronger and by that time had already accelerated the wave to 2 meters. The wind and current began to carry the injured people directly onto the cargo ship, and after a while several dozen people were floating on both sides. Tkachenko ordered the rowboat and motorboat to be lowered into the water, as well as the front ladder to be lowered to receive the victims on board. Unfortunately, the front ladder jammed and could not be lowered.

Only at 24 hours on August 31, Captain Tkachenko from aboard the Vasev reported to the port captain that the Nakhimov had sunk. In total, during that night the crew of the cargo ship lifted 36 people and 1 corpse.

The alarm also sounded at the Novorossiysk Higher Marine Engineering School (NVIMU). The cadets, having learned about the tragedy, immediately went to sea on yawls, barely rowing against the wind. But by the time they arrived at the crash site, there was no one to save. The injured people were taken to pier 34, to the seaport, where medical teams and police were already present. Everyone who arrived was registered.

However, many of the rescued people still had relatives and friends at sea. The glass wall of the sea terminal turned into a “wailing wall” - unhappy people crowded around it, directing their gaze towards Cape Doob, where the ship sank. Later, when all the people were brought from the disaster area, they were placed in city hotels, in the buildings of NVIMU. A total of 836 people were rescued.

Since September 1, 1986, divers have been working at the disaster site. They penetrated the ship's hull through holes cut into the side. Working inside the ship was difficult and scary. The ship lay on the ground almost completely on the starboard side. Longitudinal corridors turned into narrow manholes, transverse ones into shafts. Furniture was scattered everywhere, and entire rubble of carpeting, furniture and corpses formed in the corridors. Most of the cabin doors were jammed and the diver had to remove the bodies of people from the cabins by breaking the door prematurely with a crowbar.

The second mate A. Chudnovsky locked himself in his cabin and died. The head of the Odessa KGB Directorate, General Krikunov, and his family died: the bodies of the general’s wife and daughter were found in their cabin, and the body of the general in a tracksuit, with a young grandson in his arms, was found near the cabin under the ladder leading to the upper deck. Sailor Fakhretdinov, who was standing on the bridge at the time of the collision, died.

36 female flight attendants died, who fulfilled their official duty to the end and helped remove passengers from the lower decks. In front of the electrician A. Dolinsky, his wife and little son died. The head of the floating practice, M. Brown, and several trainee sailors died. The newlyweds Kot, who went on a honeymoon on a steamboat, died...

In total, according to the official version, 423 passengers and crew members died as a result of the disaster. However, not all of the dead were found and brought to the surface. 64 people remained under water forever.

On September 10, a military diver died while working in the premises of a sunken ship. On September 19, the second diver got into a blockage and was unable to get out on his own. After this, the search work on the sunken p/f "Admiral Nakhimov" was decided by the decision of the Government Commission to stop.

IV. Further developments

In 1987, in Odessa, at the Railway Workers' Palace of Culture, after an almost six-month trial, the trial of captains V. Markov and V. Tkachenko took place. Both were found guilty under Art. 85 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR and sentenced each to 15 years of imprisonment in a correctional labor colony and compensation for material damage in the amount of 40 thousand rubles. 6 years later, in November 1992, by decrees of the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, they were pardoned and released.

Captain Viktor Tkachenko, changing his last name to Talor, left for permanent residence in Israel. In September 2003, a yacht under the command of Victor Tallor crashed near Newfoundland. Later, the remains of the yacht and the dead people were found off the Canadian coast. V. Tkachenko was buried in Tel Aviv. Captain Vadim Markov remained to live in Odessa. Immediately after his release, he worked at the Black Sea Shipping Company as a captain-mentor on passenger ships. He died in Odessa in May 2007.

The steamer "Admiral Nakhimov" still lies at a depth of 47 meters in Tsemes Bay. Every year, on August 31, a boat with relatives of the victims comes to this place. They lower a wreath into the water and throw flowers... The organizer of trips to Novorossiysk for relatives from 1987 to 2005 was the Nakhimovets charity foundation, represented by director G.V. Andrievskaya. On December 1, 2005, after a serious illness, Galina Vasilievna died. The management of the foundation, as well as the preparation of mourning events dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, was taken over by her daughter, Natalia Rozhdestvenskaya.

After repairs in 1986, the motor ship “Pyotr Vasev” was renamed “Podolsk”. It now flies under the flag of Malta and is called "Orbit". On August 31, 2006, exactly 20 years after the tragedy, the dry cargo ship again called at the port of Novorossiysk.

In 1987, at Cape Doob, the closest to the place of death of the Admiral Nakhimov, a memorial sign was erected in memory of the lost ship and its passengers. Every year, relatives of the victims come here from all over the former USSR to lay a wreath on the mass grave.

The famous Cape Doob in the Black Sea pilotage is called “noticeable”. Behind it rises Mount Doob, 435 meters high. The cape faces the sea with a steep slope. There is a lighthouse near the cape. The site chosen for the monument rises about a hundred meters above sea level. In good weather, you can see a vast area of ​​the sea from it, as well as a black dot - the place where the Nakhimov died.

The memorial sign is installed on the axis of the access road. A stylized reinforced concrete wave-funnel rises from the flat part of the pedestal. In the center of the floor of the closed part there is a composition of seven pipe-racks of different heights and thicknesses, located inside a cast iron wreath. The top of the pipes has been cut off. The central pipe with a built-in clock symbolizes the memory of the lost steamship.

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On August 31, 1986, a cruise ship with 1,234 passengers and crew on board sank in the waters of Novorossiysk Bay, of which 423 people are considered dead. Many bodies remained unfound, as did the answer to the question of why this happened.

Unexpected disaster

The tragedy occurred two miles from Cape Doob. There were no signs of trouble: during the day the motor ship “Admiral Nakhimov” stood in Novorossiysk, passengers walked around the city and returned to their cabins for the evening departure to the next port. At 22.00 the ship left the pier, heading for Sochi. After 20 minutes, the bridge received a message about the approach of the dry cargo ship Pyotr Vasev, which was on a collision course. According to the instructions, the Admiral Nakhimov was obliged to let it through (Rules for Preventing Collisions of Ships at Sea), but the coastal traffic control post gave the command to the dry cargo ship to let the ship through. The captain of the "Petra Vasev" Viktor Tkachenko accepted the dispatcher's instructions and informed the captain of the "Admiral Nakhimov" Vadim Markov that he would allow the liner to pass. But, despite the agreement, at 11:12 p.m. the cargo ship crashed at a right angle with its bow into the starboard side of the ship in the area of ​​the engine room, making a hole 8 by 10 meters along the dividing line in two compartments at once. And eight minutes later, “Admiral Nakhimov” already sank.

Switchmen were appointed immediately

Why did the coastal dispatcher give the captains the command to violate the PPSS? Why did the cargo ship, bypassing the agreement, not give way to the passenger ship? And why did the reliably made multi-deck liner quickly sank in a matter of minutes, although its design promised to remain afloat even if two compartments were flooded? The government commission investigating the crash had no answers to these questions. Long before the trial and the end of the investigation, she determined that the negligence of the captains led to the shipwreck. Two months later, this conclusion was confirmed by a resolution of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, whose member Heydar Aliyev headed the investigation commission. And in March 1987, the court took into account the verdict of the country's leadership, sentencing both captains to 15 years in prison and obliging them to pay a fine in compensation for damage - 40 thousand rubles each.

Decommissioned galoshes

At the same time, neither the Minister of the Navy, member of the CPSU Central Committee Timofey Guzhenko, nor the leadership of the Black Sea Shipping Company were responsible for releasing the decommissioned ship into the sea. Almost two months before the incident, on July 8, 1986, the shipping company drew up an act stating that the 60-year-old liner was not suitable for further operation (the Admiral Nakhimov was built in Bremen, Germany in 1925 and was originally called the Berlin).

Why then did the authorities allow the ship to take so many people on board and leave the port? After all, this happened with the knowledge and on the instructions of the head of the Black Sea Shipping Company, S. Lukyanchenko, who signed the act of unsuitability of the vessel. Or maybe the airliner was specially decommissioned for its last voyage? People did not even have the opportunity to use boats - the ship disappeared under water so quickly, despite its buoyancy characteristics.

Interference and phantoms

Naval experts made public the fact that during the emergency, a third vessel was noted on the radar screens, but it remained unidentified. And for some reason the investigation ignored this key detail. The discrepancy between the readings of the automated radar plotting system for the course of the bulk carrier and the position of the motor ship also remained unnoticed. The device on the Pyotr Vasev showed a two-mile discrepancy with the object on a collision course, that is, the captain had the illusion of a prosperous situation.
What could have influenced the ARPA readings? Researchers answer with reason: microwave weapons.

Fatal radiation

Associate Professor of the Krasnodar Polytechnic Institute Vladimir Chuev draws attention to the increase in solar activity that coincided with the disaster. On such days, radars often record the disappearance of real objects and the appearance of phantom “ghosts”. But why was the 20% surge in electromagnetic radiation since August 17 noted by the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory and was “point-blank not noticed” by the reference observatories in Canada and Japan (only after September 1 did their readings become identical to ours)? The answer may lie in the fact that the region where the Admiral Nakhimov was flooded was affected not by solar radiation, but by directed electromagnetic radiation. According to the Krasnodar scientist, it was supplied through a satellite or microprocessors of electronic reconnaissance systems capable of “confusing” radars. With such an impact, true targets disappear from the screens and false ones appear, something that Soviet navigators repeatedly encountered before the tragedy in Tsemes Bay. Several times false targets were registered on radars on the ships “Burgas”, “Heroes of Sevastopol”, etc. And in four cases this only miraculously did not lead to a collision.

General version

According to Alexander Trusov, who served in the KGB border troops at that time, microwave weapons could have been used not by enemy intelligence services, but by their own. Whether the elimination of the head of the KGB department for the Odessa region was an independent goal or the death of Major General Krikunov and his family on the ship “Admiral Nakhimov” became a link in a large secret operation is a question. But the fact remains: on that fateful night, a high-ranking official of the state security service died, and he was delivered to the ship by boat as if on purpose - after it had left the sea terminal. The appearance of the general on board was unexpected: he made this decision at the Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR in Moscow on the day the cruise started from Odessa. The circumstances of Krikunov’s death were associated with the investigation of the removal of military equipment from the Novorossiysk port, and with an attempt to transport a significant shipment of contraband, and with the revenge of the corrupt nomenklatura...

For some reason, at the time of the collision of the ships, the captain of the Admiral Nakhimov was in the company of the general - at 23.00 he went to dinner in Krikunov’s cabin (his absence on the bridge would later be blamed on Markov). But, unlike the tall passenger, the captain did not drown. But second mate Alexander Chudnovsky, who unsuccessfully drew the captain’s attention to the dangerous approach, on the contrary, at the time of the collision of the Admiral Nakhimov, for some reason found himself locked in his cabin.

Aides sounded the alarm

Alexander Chudnovsky, who remained on watch as the senior officer, twice clarified the order of departure from the dry cargo ship and received confirmation that it was allowing the ship to pass. "Admiral Nakhimov" followed its course, but its bearing on the ARPA instruments did not change. The assistant captain of the cargo ship, Zubyuk, also reported on the threat of collision, recording reports in the logbook. But Captain Tkachenko ignored the warnings. Both ships had time to disperse without losses, but the captains ignored the danger signals. Meanwhile, Alexander Chudnovsky tried to avoid the collision, but it was too late. He fought with the steering wheel until the last moment, so the information that he locked the key, realizing that the ship he was steering was doomed, does not stand up to criticism.

To get to his body, divers subsequently had to break down the door. Two divers also died during rescue operations, after which access to the sunken liner was prohibited.

Local resonance

Instead of a timely and qualified investigation, the people were given versions of a collision of a “cosmic nature.” One of them was voiced by flight safety specialist from St. Petersburg Alexey Sinyakov. He blamed the incident on the impact of local geophysical resonance. An unfavorable combination of factors, according to the scientist, often causes disasters on land, in the air, on water and under water (of which there is a fire on the Komsomolets nuclear submarine). The professor stated that a sign of FGR in the Black Sea on the evening of August 31, 1986 was an anomalous glow in the atmosphere, and a couple of hours after the death of the Admiral Nakhimov, a powerful earthquake was noted in the western part of the sea. Geophysical resonance prevents a person from correctly assessing the situation, the expert concluded, which can have irreparable consequences when managing a technical object.

Ends in the water

One way or another, there is a feeling that the authorities are not interested in establishing the truth in this dark matter. The “switchmen” were pardoned six years later - in 1992, both captains were released. The commander of the Admiral Nakhimov, who survived the crash, Vadim Markov, was appointed to the position of captain-mentor at the Black Sea Shipping Company (he died of cancer in 2007), and Viktor Tkachenko, who managed the dry cargo ship that “rammed” the passenger side, under the name of his wife Talor, emigrated with his family to Israel. And in 2003, a yacht under his control crashed off the coast of Newfoundland, and the remains of people with the wreckage of the ship were found off the Canadian coast...

Mass grave

Only relatives of the victims did not wait for their loved ones - the bodies of 64 of the 423 victims were never raised from the bottom. The remains rest at a depth of 47 meters, and on a clear day the outlines of the “graveyard” are said to be even visible from the surface of the water. They started talking about the sailors and passengers of the Admiral Nakhimov abandoned at sea only in the context of the possibility of raising a sunken ship, polluting the water area with diesel fuel from leaking fuel tanks. But no money was found for underwater work. It was announced that the ship lying on its side does not pose any environmental or navigational hazard, and there are no projects for raising it.

Neither the participants of the “death cruise” nor the families of the victims received insurance or compensation. In Odessa, the home port of the Admiral Nakhimov, relatives themselves created a relief fund, but the injured Russians cannot count on it, and the Ukrainians suffered little, while the descendants of those killed on the Titanic receive benefits in the fourth generation.

And the Nakhimovets charity foundation provides housing, cars and a boat to the site of the tragedy to gather relatives on August 31 - on this day people come annually to honor the memory of the victims, for whom the sea became a mass grave. At the official burial site of disaster victims, it is prohibited to anchor, dive to depth, or disturb the burial in any other way. Therefore, the relatives of the victims only sail by on a boat to throw wreaths onto the water. On the shore, relatives were given only urns with sand and silt and three hundred rubles each for a symbolic funeral...

Curious facts

The film “Ladies Invite Gentlemen” was filmed on board the flagship of the Black Sea Shipping Company.

According to some reports, the captain of the Admiral Nakhimov did not know how to swim. But this did not stop him from literally getting away with it: they say that Markov was among the first to leave the sinking ship and went ashore without getting his uniform wet.

The Admiral Nakhimov sank twice during the war (at that time it was still the German ship Berlin) and lay at the bottom of the sea for two years until it was raised in 1947. After restoration in Germany in 1957, the ship with a displacement of 23,360 tons continued to sail in the USSR under the name Admiral Nakhimov.

By a mystical coincidence, at least four of the seven ships bearing the name of Nakhimov were wrecked: in 1897, the cargo steamer Nakhimov sank off the coast of Turkey, in 1905, in the Battle of Tsushima, the Japanese sank the battleship cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, and in 1941 A Soviet cruiser with the same name, renamed Chervona Ukraine, sank.

Divers say that in many cabins on the table there is a book about the sinking of the Titanic, which was sold on a tray in front of the gangway.

The “Top Secret” stamp has not yet been removed from the criminal case.

Vyacheslav Kaprelyants, 2017

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