In what year did the motor ship Bulgaria sank? Abstract of the wreck of the motor ship Bulgaria

21.05.2022

date Time

≈13 hours 30 minutes

Dead

122 people

Victims

79 were rescued, of which 9 people were hospitalized due to cuts and bruises, 5 were sent for outpatient treatment after first aid.

Wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria"- a shipwreck that occurred on July 10, 2011 at approximately 13:30 Moscow time in the Kuibyshev reservoir near the village of Syukeevo, Kamsko-Ustinsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan.

general information

Motor ship "Bulgaria"

Double-decker motor ship " Bulgaria"Project 785 (built in Czechoslovakia in 1955), cruising along the route Kazan - Bolgar - Kazan, sank in the Volga near the village of Syukeevo, Kamsko-Ustinsky district of Tatarstan.

Two vessels - the dry cargo ship "Arbat" and the pusher "Dunaysky 66" passed by rafts with passengers and crew of the motor ship "Bulgaria". The first ship to come to the aid of those in distress was the cruise ship Arabella, whose crew carried out the rescue operation. On board the Arabella, the survivors were provided with first aid, food, hot drinks and dry clothing. Several seriously injured were sent to Kazan on the Meteor.

For several days since the tragedy, the operation continued to raise the motor ship "Bulgaria" from the bottom of the Kuibyshev Reservoir and to search for the bodies of the victims. Significant forces of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Russian Ministry of Transport, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Social Development and commercial structures were pulled into the crash area. As a result, the motor ship "Bulgaria" was lifted and transported to the nearest ship repair plant in the Kuibyshevsky backwater. At the same time, all the bodies of the dead were discovered.

According to final data, of the 201 people on board, 79 were saved. The death of the remaining 122 people was confirmed. Among the dead was the captain of the motor ship "Bulgaria" Alexander Ostrovsky.

Investigative Committee Russian Federation In connection with the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria", several criminal cases were initiated, and a number of officials were brought to criminal liability:

All the defendants in the mentioned criminal cases, with the exception of two captains who did not provide assistance to those in distress and the senior mate of the captain of the motor ship "Bulgaria" Ramil Khametov, were placed in custody.

Several departments presented to the public their conclusions based on the results of inspections regarding the crash of the motor ship "Bulgaria" (see section)

The wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria" had a great public resonance in Russia and the rest of the world, which in turn became the reason for the start of mass inspections in the industry river fleet, in the bodies of the River Register and Rostransnadzor.

Chronology of events

Memory

For several days after the sinking of the motor ship "Bulgaria", many residents of Kazan came to the Kazan river port, where a spontaneous people's memorial was built, consisting of thousands of soft toys, flowers and burning candles.

On July 10, 2012, on the banks of the Volga near the village of Syukeevo, Kamsko-Ustinsky district, opposite the place where the motor ship Bulgaria sank, a memorial was opened in memory of the victims of this tragedy. The complex includes a memory wall and central square, as well as a chapel and a mosque. The memory wall is made of monolithic concrete, lined with granite. It depicts the sunken motor ship "Bulgaria" and the names of 122 victims are embossed in gold letters.

A buoy has been installed at the crash site. Ships passing by must sound a long sound signal (horn), thereby paying tribute to the memory of those who died on the ship.

The parents of five-year-old Kirill Chernov, who died in the crash of the motor ship "Bulgaria", announced that they would build a children's playground near the village of Krasnogorsky in the Mari-El Republic using compensation funds.

Results of the investigation

Rostransnadzor

From the operative part of the audit conclusion:

The commission concluded that the causes of the accident were a combination of the following factors:

1. Failure by the shipowner and captain of the vessel to comply with the requirements of regulatory documents regulating the safety of navigation during the planning, preparation and implementation of a voyage, during which the safe navigation of the vessel was not ensured. Thus, the shipowner and captain of the vessel deliberately violated the restrictions of the Russian River Register for vessels of this project, prohibiting their operation:

2. Low qualifications and lack of discipline of the ship’s crew members, expressed in:

failure to take the necessary safety measures when the vessel enters the reservoir and upon receiving a storm warning. The ship's port and starboard portholes were not closed, including in the engine room, where only crew members were on watch;
in the unauthorized shutdown of the starboard main diesel generator by the senior engineer, without receiving a command from the bridge;
in the failure of ship machinery due to non-compliance with the Technical Operation Rules;
in non-compliance with generally accepted techniques and methods of vessel control. The left turn maneuver was carried out without taking into account: the stability features of the vessel, the already existing list of 4° to starboard; an additional roll to starboard caused by centrifugal force during circulation to the left; a strong wind blowing on the left side and a large sail of the ship;
in violation by the captain of the vessel of the requirements of paragraphs 15 and 16 of the Procedure for dispatch control of vessel traffic on inland waterways of the Russian Federation, approved by Order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated March 1, 2010 No. 47 “On approval of the procedure for dispatch control of vessel traffic on inland waterways of the Russian Federation” (captain did not inform the dispatcher and did not receive dispatch permission for the vessel to move).

Official representative of the RF IC Vladimir Markin:

The Investigative Committee officially declares that it will be possible to finally establish the cause of the sinking of the vessel only based on the results of a judicial commission of navigation and engineering and technical examination, which is currently being carried out. Taking into account the conclusion of the expert commission, appropriate procedural decisions will be made.

Regarding information about holes on the hull of the ship, Vladimir Markin explained:

Information disseminated in the media with reference to the results of the survey of the ship carried out by the Middle Volga branch of the Russian River Register that the crash of the "Bulgaria" occurred due to holes is not true. The investigation believes that the reference to anonymous experts is deliberately used to influence public opinion in order to exempt from criminal liability officials against whom a criminal case has already been initiated, as well as other persons who may soon be brought to criminal liability .

Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation

A preliminary version of the cause of the crash of the motor ship "Bulgaria" is open portholes.

Public Chamber of the Russian Federation

On November 21, 2011, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation presented the conclusion of a public investigation, from which it follows that the crew did not take the necessary measures to prepare the vessel for departure in accordance with the announced meteorological forecast for the Kuibyshev reservoir, in particular, the crew of the "Bulgaria" did not provide stability of the vessel, did not batten down the portholes, including emergency ones, did not repair the breakdown of the left main engine, and also did not connect communications equipment to emergency power sources; the vessel was controlled without taking into account its real load, the report says. The presence of an initial list of the vessel to starboard, the appearance of an additional list when the vessel turned to the left, as well as a gust of heavy wind and waves (on the reservoir) led to an intensive flow of water into the hull through the open portholes and, as a consequence, to loss of stability and flooding of the vessel.

Opinions about the disaster

A terrible tragedy occurred on the Volga. My condolences to the families and friends of those killed

and at the meetings he gave instructions:

All search efforts must be completed, despite the fact that there is practically no hope of finding anyone alive. This must be done for understandable moral and ethical reasons and in order to find out all the circumstances of his death

The number of old vessels that float with us is prohibitive! If it happened before, this does not mean that it could not happen. This happened, and with the most terrible consequences. It is necessary to assess this situation and force either to carry out the necessary overhaul of all those who own ships, or to take them out of service if they are not suitable in terms of their quality for carrying out this type of transportation.

It is not the “switchmen” who swiped the papers who must answer for this crime, but everyone who organizes this process... So that next time any official, regardless of rank, understands that responsibility for the departure of such a vessel to sea can be not only disciplinary, but also criminal. This criminal liability must be translated into very tangible penalties.

It is necessary to figure out what happened, expose and punish those responsible. This should be done in relation to a wide range of people, including the organizers of this mess, and not just the “switchmen”, the vice-chairmen and other random people who fell into this orbit.

If the technology is outdated, is it possible to use this technology at the risk of human life? only in order to get money? It is no coincidence that all these catastrophes are accompanied, on the one hand, by examples of courage and selfless feat, and on the other - by examples of cowardice and recklessness... If the dominant feature of our lives continues to be the desire to earn as much as possible by any means necessary, then we are in for more O greater disasters.

What happened on July 10 with Bulgaria, without any exaggeration, shocked the whole country. So many victims, so many children died! It’s terrible that we have to pay such a tribute for irresponsibility, for carelessness, for greed, for a gross violation of technological safety rules...

...In general, how could it happen that a company without a license for tourism activities, without a license to use ships, could operate? How were tickets sold at the port? Who allowed? How were you released from the port? How did the port enter into an agreement with this company, which does not have a single license for services at the port? How could this happen? Where were Rostekhnadzor, Rostransnadzor? Where were all these departments?

Valery Neznakin, General Director of JSC Shipping Company Kama River Shipping Company, the day after the crash of the motor ship Bulgaria:

In this case, we bear not legal, but only moral responsibility for the death of passengers.

Svetlana Inyakina, director of ArgoRechTour LLC, told the press before her arrest (text as edited by the source):

Everything was fine with the ship. According to the register documents, everything was in order, the ship was in technically acceptable condition. It's simple assault warning and strong wind. We got caught in a storm and the hold was flooded.

The main participants in the events associated with the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria"

Inyakina Svetlana Georgievna- General Director and sole participant of the Limited Liability Company "Argorechtur", which was the sublessee and operator of the motor ship "Bulgaria" during the 2011 season. Accused of providing services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life and health of consumers (Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), of violating the safety rules for operating internal water transport(Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), violation of labor protection rules (Article 143 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and a preventive measure was chosen in relation to her in the form of detention.
Ivashov Yakov- senior expert of the Kama branch of the Russian River Register, who issued Argorechtur LLC a positive conclusion for the operation of the motor ship "Bulgaria" in 2011. He is accused of unlawfully issuing official documents certifying the compliance of the services provided by Inyakina with the requirements for the safety of life and health of consumers (Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), abuse of official powers for mercenary and other personal interest (Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and a preventive measure was chosen against him in form of detention.
Timergazeev Irek- Head of the Kazan department of Rostransnadzor. According to the investigation, Timirgazeev Irek, together with Semenov Vladislav, gave a positive conclusion about the readiness of Argorechtur LLC to transport passengers, while there were no grounds for this. He is accused of abuse of official powers out of other personal interests (Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and a preventive measure in the form of detention was chosen against him.
Semenov Vladislav- Chief State Inspector of the Kazan Department of Rostransnadzor. According to the investigation, Vladislav Semenov, together with Irek Timirgazeev, gave a positive conclusion about the readiness of Argorechtur LLC to transport passengers, while there were no grounds for this. He is accused of abuse of power out of other personal interest (Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and a preventive measure was chosen against him in the form of detention.
Tuchin Yuri Vladislavovich- captain of the dry cargo ship "Arbat", convicted by the Kamsko-Ustinsky District Court of the Republic of Tatarstan under Article 270 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in connection with failure to provide assistance to survivors of the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria". Sentenced to a fine of 130 thousand rubles. During the period of the preliminary investigation and trial, he was at large due to the choice of a preventive measure not related to detention against him.
Egorov Alexander Pavlovich- captain of the pusher "Dunaysky 66", convicted by the Moscow District Court of the city of Kazan under Article 270 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in connection with failure to provide assistance to survivors of the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria". Sentenced to a fine of 190 thousand rubles. During the period of the preliminary investigation and trial, he was at large due to the choice of a preventive measure not related to detention against him.
Safin Rashid- Director of the Kazan River Port, dismissed from this position on July 15, 2011 “for allowing the release of the motor ship “Bulgaria” on a cruise.” He challenged his dismissal in court, but the courts of the first and second instance considered the dismissal legal and justified.
Ostrovsky Alexander- captain of the motor ship "Bulgaria", died in the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria". During search operations at the crash site, the body of Captain Ostrovsky was discovered on the captain's bridge. The criminal case was discontinued due to the death of the accused
Ramil Khametov- survivor of the disaster, senior mate of the ship "Bulgaria". During the investigation of the criminal case, he was accused of violating traffic safety rules and operating inland water transport (Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). He was not placed in custody due to the choice of a preventive measure against him in the form of a written undertaking not to leave the place and proper behavior.
Khramov Alexander Grigorievich- Head of the Volga Department of the State Marine and River Supervision Authority (Nizhny Novgorod), who committed suicide on August 22, 2011 due to dismissal from his position. Alexander Khramov was a witness in the case of the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria" (the same witness as Irek Timergazeev and Vladislav Semenov were before August 15, 2011).
Lizalin Roman Evgenievich- captain of the motor ship "Arabella", who together organized the rescue of the surviving passengers and crew members of the motor ship "Bulgaria". Subsequently he was awarded state and departmental awards.
Chernyshov Sergey Mikhailovich- Major General of Justice, senior investigator for particularly important cases under the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, head of the investigative group created to investigate the criminal case initiated on the fact of the crash of the motor ship "Bulgaria" on July 10, 2011.
Antonov Mikhail- largest shareholder of JSC "Shipping Company" Kama River Shipping Company "", tycoon. The Kama River Shipping Company denied rumors about Antonov’s flight abroad.
Neznakin Valery- General Director of JSC Shipping Company Kama River Shipping Company - owner of the motor ship Bulgaria.
OJSC Shipping Company "Kama River Shipping Company" (Perm)- the owner of the motor ship "Bulgaria", who did not bear responsibility, despite the current legislation, according to which the legal owner of the property bears responsibility for damage caused by the operation of the property.
Breeze LLC (Perm)- a company that is a lessee of the motor ship “Bulgaria”, which subleased this motor ship to Argorechtur LLC.
Argorechtur LLC (Kazan) is a travel company created by Svetlana Inyakina at the end of 2010. As of July 10, 2011, this legal entity was the current sublessee of the motor ship "Bulgaria", fully responsible for manning the crew, ongoing repairs and maintaining the ship in proper technical condition.

Notes

The Privolzhsky Investigation Department for Transport of the Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case regarding the sinking of the passenger ship "Bulgaria" and the death of passengers. Privolzhsky Investigation Department for Transport of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (11.07.11). Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
The motor ship arrived at the port of Kazan Arabella» with rescued passengers
Photos from the Arabella
Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case in connection with the crash " Bulgaria»:: Emergencies:: RosBusinessConsulting
The Investigative Committee found the culprits of the Bulgaria disaster, and the media and bloggers found the owner, a United Russia millionaire, Newsru.com, 07/12/2011
Kamsko-Ustinsky District Court of Kamskoye Ustye: On December 26, 2011, a verdict was passed in a criminal case charging Yu. V. Tuchin under Art. 270 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
A memorial was opened on the banks of the Volga in memory of those killed in the crash of the "Bulgaria"
A monument on the water was erected at the site of the Bulgaria crash
A children's playground will be built in the Republic of Mari El in memory of the child who died on the ship "Bulgaria"
The Commission of the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport completed the investigation into the accident of the diesel-electric ship "Bulgaria", leased from ArgoRechTour LLC (Kazan), which sank on July 10, 2011.
At the same time, the Investigative Committee of Russia refutes information about the existing holes in the hull of the motor ship "Bulgaria" ()

date Time

≈13 hours 30 minutes

Dead

122 people

Victims

79 were rescued, of which 9 people were hospitalized due to cuts and bruises, 5 were sent for outpatient treatment after first aid.

general information

Motor ship "Bulgaria"

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in connection with the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria" initiated several criminal cases, and also brought a number of officials to criminal liability:

Several departments presented to the public their conclusions based on the results of inspections regarding the crash of the motor ship "Bulgaria" (see section)

The wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria" had a great public resonance in Russia and the rest of the world, which in turn became the reason for the start of mass inspections in the river fleet industry, in the bodies of the River Register and Rostransnadzor.

Chronology of events

Memory

On July 10, 2012, on the banks of the Volga near the village of Syukeevo, Kamsko-Ustinsky district, opposite the place where the motor ship Bulgaria sank, a memorial was opened in memory of the victims of this tragedy. The complex includes a wall of remembrance and a central square, as well as a chapel and a mosque. The memory wall is made of monolithic concrete, lined with granite. It depicts the sunken motor ship "Bulgaria" and the names of 122 victims are embossed in gold letters.

A buoy has been installed at the crash site. Ships passing by must sound a long sound signal (horn), thereby paying tribute to the memory of those who died on the ship.

Results of the investigation

Rostransnadzor

From the operative part of the audit conclusion:

The commission concluded that the causes of the accident were a combination of the following factors:

2. Low qualifications and lack of discipline of the ship’s crew members, expressed in:

failure to take the necessary safety measures when the vessel enters the reservoir and upon receiving a storm warning. The ship's port and starboard portholes were not closed, including in the engine room, where only crew members were on watch;
in the unauthorized shutdown of the starboard main diesel generator by the senior engineer, without receiving a command from the bridge;
in the failure of ship machinery due to non-compliance with the Technical Operation Rules;
in non-compliance with generally accepted techniques and methods of vessel control. The left turn maneuver was carried out without taking into account: the stability features of the vessel, the already existing list of 4° to starboard; an additional roll to starboard caused by centrifugal force during circulation to the left; a strong wind blowing on the left side and a large sail of the ship;
in violation by the captain of the vessel of the requirements of paragraphs 15 and 16 of the Procedure for dispatch control of vessel traffic on inland waterways of the Russian Federation, approved by Order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated March 1, 2010 No. 47 “On approval of the procedure for dispatch control of vessel traffic on inland waterways of the Russian Federation” (captain did not inform the dispatcher and did not receive dispatch permission for the vessel to move).

Official representative of the RF IC Vladimir Markin:

The Investigative Committee officially declares that it will be possible to finally establish the cause of the sinking of the vessel only based on the results of a judicial commission of navigation and engineering and technical examination, which is currently being carried out. Taking into account the conclusion of the expert commission, appropriate procedural decisions will be made.

Regarding information about holes on the hull of the ship, Vladimir Markin explained:

Information disseminated in the media with reference to the results of the survey of the ship carried out by the Middle Volga branch of the Russian River Register that the crash of the "Bulgaria" occurred due to holes is not true. The investigation believes that the reference to anonymous experts is deliberately used to influence public opinion in order to exempt from criminal liability officials against whom a criminal case has already been initiated, as well as other persons who may soon be brought to criminal liability .

Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation

A preliminary version of the cause of the crash of the motor ship "Bulgaria" is open portholes.

Public Chamber of the Russian Federation

Opinions about the disaster

A terrible tragedy occurred on the Volga. My condolences to the families and friends of those killed

and at the meetings he gave instructions:

All search efforts must be completed, despite the fact that there is practically no hope of finding anyone alive. This must be done for understandable moral and ethical reasons and in order to find out all the circumstances of his death

The number of old vessels that float with us is prohibitive! If it happened before, this does not mean that it could not happen. This happened, and with the most terrible consequences. It is necessary to assess this situation and force either to carry out the necessary overhaul of all those who own ships, or to take them out of service if they are not suitable in terms of their quality for carrying out this type of transportation.

It is not the “switchmen” who swiped the papers who must answer for this crime, but everyone who organizes this process... So that next time any official, regardless of rank, understands that responsibility for the departure of such a vessel to sea can be not only disciplinary, but also criminal. This criminal liability must be translated into very tangible penalties.

It is necessary to figure out what happened, expose and punish those responsible. This should be done in relation to a wide range of people, including the organizers of this mess, and not just the “switchmen”, the vice-chairmen and other random people who fell into this orbit.

If the technology is outdated, is it possible to use this technology at the risk of human life? only in order to get money? It is no coincidence that all these catastrophes are accompanied, on the one hand, by examples of courage and selfless feat, and on the other - by examples of cowardice and recklessness... If the dominant feature of our lives continues to be the desire to earn as much as possible by any means necessary, then we are in for more O greater disasters.

What happened on July 10 with Bulgaria, without any exaggeration, shocked the whole country. So many victims, so many children died! It’s terrible that we have to pay such a tribute for irresponsibility, for carelessness, for greed, for a gross violation of technological safety rules...

...In general, how could it happen that a company without a license for tourism activities, without a license to use ships, could operate? How were tickets sold at the port? Who allowed? How were you released from the port? How did the port enter into an agreement with this company, which does not have a single license for services at the port? How could this happen? Where were Rostekhnadzor, Rostransnadzor? Where were all these departments?

Valery Neznakin, General Director of JSC Shipping Company Kama River Shipping Company, the day after the crash of the motor ship Bulgaria:

In this case, we bear not legal, but only moral responsibility for the death of passengers.

Svetlana Inyakina, director of ArgoRechTour LLC, told the press before her arrest (text as edited by the source):

Everything was fine with the ship. According to the register documents, everything was in order, the ship was in technically acceptable condition. It's simple assault warning and strong wind. We got caught in a storm and the hold was flooded.

The main participants in the events associated with the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria"

Inyakina Svetlana Georgievna- General Director and sole participant of the Limited Liability Company "Argorechtur", which was the sublessee and operator of the motor ship "Bulgaria" during the 2011 season. Accused of providing services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life and health of consumers (Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), violating safety rules for the operation of inland water transport (Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), violating labor protection rules (Article 143 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and A preventive measure was chosen against her in the form of detention.
Ivashov Yakov- senior expert of the Kama branch of the Russian River Register, who issued Argorechtur LLC a positive conclusion for the operation of the motor ship "Bulgaria" in 2011. He is accused of unlawfully issuing official documents certifying the compliance of the services provided by Inyakina with the requirements for the safety of life and health of consumers (Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), abuse of official powers for mercenary and other personal interest (Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and a preventive measure was chosen against him in form of detention.
Timergazeev Irek- Head of the Kazan department of Rostransnadzor. According to the investigation, Timirgazeev Irek, together with Semenov Vladislav, gave a positive conclusion about the readiness of Argorechtur LLC to transport passengers, while there were no grounds for this. He is accused of abuse of official powers out of other personal interests (Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and a preventive measure in the form of detention was chosen against him.
Semenov Vladislav- Chief State Inspector of the Kazan Department of Rostransnadzor. According to the investigation, Vladislav Semenov, together with Irek Timirgazeev, gave a positive conclusion about the readiness of Argorechtur LLC to transport passengers, while there were no grounds for this. He is accused of abuse of power out of other personal interest (Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and a preventive measure was chosen against him in the form of detention.
Tuchin Yuri Vladislavovich- captain of the dry cargo ship "Arbat", convicted by the Kamsko-Ustinsky District Court of the Republic of Tatarstan under Article 270 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in connection with failure to provide assistance to survivors of the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria". Sentenced to a fine of 130 thousand rubles. During the period of the preliminary investigation and trial, he was at large due to the choice of a preventive measure not related to detention against him.
Egorov Alexander Pavlovich- captain of the pusher "Dunaysky 66", convicted by the Moscow District Court of the city of Kazan under Article 270 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in connection with failure to provide assistance to survivors of the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria". Sentenced to a fine of 190 thousand rubles. During the period of the preliminary investigation and trial, he was at large due to the choice of a preventive measure not related to detention against him.
Safin Rashid- Director of the Kazan River Port, dismissed from this position on July 15, 2011 “for allowing the release of the motor ship “Bulgaria” on a cruise.” He challenged his dismissal in court, but the courts of the first and second instance considered the dismissal legal and justified.
Ostrovsky Alexander- captain of the motor ship "Bulgaria", died in the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria". During search operations at the crash site, the body of Captain Ostrovsky was discovered on the captain's bridge. The criminal case was discontinued due to the death of the accused
Ramil Khametov- survivor of the disaster, senior mate of the ship "Bulgaria". During the investigation of the criminal case, he was accused of violating traffic safety rules and operating inland water transport (Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). He was not placed in custody due to the choice of a preventive measure against him in the form of a written undertaking not to leave the place and proper behavior.
Khramov Alexander Grigorievich- Head of the Volga Department of the State Marine and River Supervision Authority (Nizhny Novgorod), who committed suicide on August 22, 2011 due to dismissal from his position. Alexander Khramov was a witness in the case of the wreck of the motor ship "Bulgaria" (the same witness as Irek Timergazeev and Vladislav Semenov were before August 15, 2011).
Lizalin Roman Evgenievich- captain of the motor ship "Arabella", who together organized the rescue of the surviving passengers and crew members of the motor ship "Bulgaria". Subsequently he was awarded state and departmental awards.
Chernyshov Sergey Mikhailovich- Major General of Justice, senior investigator for particularly important cases under the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, head of the investigative group created to investigate the criminal case initiated on the fact of the crash of the motor ship "Bulgaria" on July 10, 2011.
Antonov Mikhail- largest shareholder of JSC "Shipping Company" Kama River Shipping Company "", tycoon. The Kama River Shipping Company denied rumors about Antonov’s flight abroad.
Neznakin Valery- General Director of JSC Shipping Company Kama River Shipping Company - owner of the motor ship Bulgaria.
OJSC Shipping Company "Kama River Shipping Company" (Perm)- the owner of the motor ship "Bulgaria", who did not bear responsibility, despite the current legislation, according to which the legal owner of the property bears responsibility for damage caused by the operation of the property.
Breeze LLC (Perm)- a company that is a lessee of the motor ship “Bulgaria”, which subleased this motor ship to Argorechtur LLC.
Argorechtur LLC (Kazan) is a travel company created by Svetlana Inyakina at the end of 2010. As of July 10, 2011, this legal entity was the current sublessee of the motor ship "Bulgaria", fully responsible for manning the crew, ongoing repairs and maintaining the ship in proper technical condition.

Notes

The Privolzhsky Investigation Department for Transport of the Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case regarding the sinking of the passenger ship "Bulgaria" and the death of passengers. Privolzhsky Investigation Department for Transport of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (11.07.11). Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
The motor ship arrived at the port of Kazan Arabella» with rescued passengers
Photos from the Arabella
Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case in connection with the crash " Bulgaria»:: Emergencies:: RosBusinessConsulting
The Investigative Committee found the culprits of the Bulgaria disaster, and the media and bloggers found the owner, a United Russia millionaire, Newsru.com, 07/12/2011
Kamsko-Ustinsky District Court of Kamskoye Ustye: On December 26, 2011, a verdict was passed in a criminal case charging Yu. V. Tuchin under Art. 270 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
A memorial was opened on the banks of the Volga in memory of those killed in the crash of the "Bulgaria"
A monument on the water was erected at the site of the Bulgaria crash
A children's playground will be built in the Republic of Mari El in memory of the child who died on the ship "Bulgaria"
The Commission of the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport completed the investigation into the accident of the diesel-electric ship "Bulgaria", leased from ArgoRechTour LLC (Kazan), which sank on July 10, 2011.
At the same time, the Investigative Committee of Russia refutes information about the existing holes in the hull of the motor ship "Bulgaria" ()

July 12 has been declared a day of national mourning in connection with the death of the cruise ship "Bulgaria", which sank on the Volga in Tatarstan. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced this at an emergency meeting in Gorki.

“Yesterday a disaster occurred. Many of our people died. We are ready to express our condolences. I have decided to declare tomorrow a day of national mourning,” Medvedev said.

A decision has been made to raise the passenger ship "Bulgaria", which sank on Sunday afternoon in Tatarstan, said the head of Rosmorrechflot Alexander Davydenko. In total, there were, according to various sources, from 196 to 208 people on board, including 59 children. 12 people are listed as dead, about 80 people were saved, the fate of the rest is unknown.

The vessel will be lifted using barge platforms, the head of Rosmorrechflot said. The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu, said that the operation to raise the vessel should be planned on July 11 before 15.00 Moscow time. He said that in the work to raise the vessel it is planned to use two special cranes from Volgograd, which, as the head of Rosmorrechflot noted, will arrive at the scene of the emergency within four to five days.

“At the same time, search and rescue operations will continue. Special equipment has been sent to the scene of the incident - robots and equipment for cutting the ship’s hull,” Shoigu said.

It was impossible to carry people on the Bulgaria. This little boat was barely breathing; it was over fifty years old. It twitched and stopped every now and then...

Rescuers, having examined the interior of the motor ship "Bulgaria" that sank in Tatarstan on the morning of July 11, found a large number of dead there, Igor Panshin, head of the Volga regional center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, told reporters. The vessel is located at a depth of 20 meters, 3 kilometers from the shore of the Kuibyshev reservoir near the village of Syukeevo, Kansko-Ustinovsky district.

As Oleg Pavlov, a correspondent for Radio Liberty in Kazan, reports, by the end of the day on July 11, it is planned to completely complete the search work at the crash site of the Bulgaria. According to rescuers, there is no hope that anyone else managed to survive. Apparently, the divers saw something inside the ship that allows them to make such confident statements.

Currently, about 40 divers are working at the scene of the disaster, the RS correspondent reports, and in the near future, according to Rustam Minnikhanov, who headed the operational headquarters of the President of Tatarstan, the number of divers will be increased to 100. Apparently, they will have the sad job of removing the bodies of the dead. The fact that they are there is certain, if only because many eyewitnesses who were saved by the motor ship Arabella, which followed, say that literally a few minutes before the ship crashed, at least 30 children were taken into the music salon to spend time there. entertainment activities. Agencies cite the figure as 50 children. It is precisely this circumstance - dozens of children in a locked music salon - that many eyewitnesses talk about.

Most of the survivors thank the crew of the motor ship Arabella, because it was they who pulled the bulk of the people out of the water. At the same time, the agencies cite the story of a certain Nikolai Chernov - one of the rescued - who claims that during the one and a half to two hours that he and other passengers spent on the raft, two cargo ships passed by them, on board one was the name "Volganeft". "We waved at them, but they didn't stop. Only Arabella saved us."

The double-deck motor ship, built back in 1955 at the Narodny Podnik Skoda Komarno shipyard in Czechoslovakia, sank during a thunderstorm with heavy rain. The ship was traveling from the city of Bolgar to Kazan. Data on the number of passengers on board the ship is constantly changing. At first it was reported that there were 185 of them, then the Ministry of Emergency Situations named the figure at 199 people. The press service of the President of Tatarstan claims that there could have been 208 people on board the Bulgaria.

This cruise can be called one big scam and deception! The portholes that were located in the cabin periodically leaked, which made one terrified of drowning...

On the morning of July 11, the figure was different: Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, who arrived at the scene of the disaster, told reporters that there were 196 people on the Bulgaria. “196 people are those who were on board. Fifteen people are not on the list (they did not buy tour packages),” he said. According to the head of the republic, none of the dead have yet been identified. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, 80 people were rescued.

Search work is complicated by complex weather conditions- strong wind. According to Panshin, it is difficult for divers to approach the ship - “a strong current turns it under water, and it rolls over from one side to the other.”

According to a representative of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, this department does not have information about two ships that allegedly passed near the crash site but did not provide assistance. Eyewitnesses reported this earlier.

As a Radio Liberty correspondent reports, residents of Kazan are in a dejected state. Many people refuse or intend to refuse travel. Travel agencies said that they would pay the “refuseniks” 100 percent of the cost of the tours. Water travel is indeed very popular in Kazan; during the season, only one travel agency sells from 10 to 12 thousand vouchers for river cruises.

“It was impossible to carry people on the Bulgaria. This little boat was barely breathing, it was more than fifty years old. It twitched, stopped every now and then... And sometimes it ran aground,” a resident told Free Press Nizhny Novgorod Artem Smirnov, who previously worked as an animator on this ship. According to him, the ship was repaired at every anchorage - “it was falling apart.” “There were a lot of violations there. We sighed with relief at the end of the flights,” adds Artem.

Artyom’s colleague Maxim Veselovsky says: “Mostly pensioners went on the fourth deck. A ticket there costs 1,250 rubles. Did they get out? Due to the low speed, this wreck sailed through some stops. Because of this, the number of excursions was reduced. The rights of passengers were constantly violated ".

On the Vodaflot forum you can find the following reviews about travel on the ship "Bulgaria":

"06/19-21/06 we ended up on this “wonderful” ship. This cruise can be called one big scam and deception! The company did not fulfill a single condition of the contract! It all started with a simple delay of the ship, as we were told there was an inspection of the ship in Kazan. The food leaves much to be desired The plates looked like a UFO with small piles. There was a problem with the water. But it was such an emerald color that it was worth thinking about before drinking! horror of drowning... When, out of necessity, we turned to the administrator with a request to tell us where the doctor was (we needed pills for fever), we were told with surprise that he simply did not exist and had never existed, and the garbage that sunbathed with us and went out. .. All the garbage was stored outside the restaurant window and it is not known how long it was rolled back and forth!”

According to the Kommersant newspaper, the owner of 52.25% of the shares of OJSC "Shipping Company "Kama River Shipping Company" (KRP) is the company Antonov Group-F.Z.E., registered in United Arab Emirates. These data appear in the quarterly list of affiliates published recently. Previously, this package belonged to the Cyprus offshore Danehill Investments Ltd of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the JSC Mikhail Antonov. Another 32.13% of the shares of the joint-stock company belong to the Federal Property Management Agency.

Project 785 motor ships, to which Bulgaria belongs, are medium-sized passenger ships designed to operate on fast passenger lines. Initially, they had 1-, 2-, 4-, 6- and 8-berth cabins, but during the modernization of the ships, large-capacity cabins were refurbished to increase comfort. The ships were equipped with two lifeboats instead of four.

In total, from 1955 to 1958, 36 diesel-electric ships were built under Project 785. The ships were operated on the Volga, Kama, Don, Yenisei, Ob, Irtysh and Dnieper. Some ships are used as hotels and recreation centers. After the sinking of the Bulgaria, four motor ships remained in operation on Russian rivers: Pyotr Alabin (built in 1954), Rimsky-Korsakov (built in 1956), Composer Glazunov (built in 1956) and M . Yu. Lermontov" (1958 release).

The sinking of the motor ship "Bulgaria" was the largest disaster on Russian rivers in almost 30 years, Interfax reports. And if we take into account the Admiral Nakhimov, which sank in the Black Sea in 1986, Sunday’s tragedy on the Volga is one of the three largest in terms of the number of victims in recent decades.

At 19.45 Moscow time, the number of confirmed victims of the disaster on the Volga of the motor ship "Bulgaria" increased to 55 people.

As Interfax reports, with reference to the State River Navigation Inspectorate of the Volga Basin, in the Volga waters near Saratov, the ship "Kompozitor Glazunov" with 85 tourists on board was stopped and moored to the river station. "Composer Glazunov" was traveling from Astrakhan to Yaroslavl. This is a ship similar to the sunken Bulgaria. Inspectors intend to check it as a preventive measure.

* * *
Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said on the afternoon of July 11 that information about the ships that did not provide assistance to the dying Bulgaria was being checked. At the request of Radio Liberty correspondent Kirill Filimonov, he commented on the behavior of the crews of the ships allegedly sailing past Igor Karpov, who worked in the navy as an assistant captain for almost 40 years:

– This is a violation of the maritime code, and all boatmasters know this very well. When they see people dying, they should immediately try to save them. Stop, launch boats, rafts - everything that is possible... Therefore, if everything really happened like that, the captains are definitely to blame. I know of cases where captains received real prison sentences for not stopping and helping a sinking ship.

– What should a captain do when he sees a sinking ship or receives a signal about it?

- First of all, he stops the ship. Lifeboats, of which there are at least two, are lowered into the water. The crew must be specially trained to rescue people. There are means on the ship with which they try to save people: they are pulled out of the water, put into boats and taken to the ship.

* * *
Fifty psychologists will work with relatives of those killed on the Bulgaria. As Interfax reports, a decision has been made to increase the number of psychologists working with passengers and crew members of the Bulgaria ship, as well as with relatives of the victims. Currently, four psychologists from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Tatarstan, three specialists from Nizhny Novgorod and seven from Moscow are engaged in this work. In the coming hours, specialists from St. Petersburg, Rostov and Krasnoyarsk will arrive to help them.

The bodies of the children, who were at the Bulgarian children's entertainment playground, can only be recovered with the help of vessels equipped with cranes, Interfax reported, citing its source in the rescue group. Divers said that there were about 40 bodies of dead children in the children's room. The room is located in the hold, where a children's room with a sandbox was built. Rescuers were unable to retrieve the bodies, so they need special equipment that is capable of completing the task of lifting the ship.

Radio Liberty is following developments.

KAZAN, July 10 – RIA Novosti, Irina Durnitsyna. Friday marks four years since the crash of the double-deck diesel-electric ship "Bulgaria" in Tatarstan, during which 122 people died.

The defendants in the Bulgaria crash case still do not admit guiltToday, the defendants in the case, Timergazeev and Semenov, gave their last word. As before, they declared that they were innocent and asked the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tajikistan to overturn the decision of the court of first instance.

The ship, which was supposed to carry no more than 156 people (120 passengers and 36 crew members), on July 9 set off on a two-day voyage along the route Kazan - Bolgar - Kazan with 163 passengers and 38 crew members on board. At about 12.30 Moscow time on July 10, 2011, "Bulgaria", which left Bolgar in stormy weather, sank in a matter of minutes three kilometers from the coast at a depth of 17-20 meters. The ship was about 50 meters and a few seconds short of the saving shoal, where its upper deck would have remained above the water. Of the 201 people, only 79 survived, 122 people died, including 28 children.

The dry cargo ship "Arbat" and the tugboat "Dunaysky 66" passed by the rafts with surviving people, but they did not provide assistance to those in distress. About two hours later, the surviving passengers and crew members of the Bulgaria were rescued by the crew of the Arabella, which was following the same route.

The search and rescue operation in the crash area lasted 16 days. Rescuers removed the last dead from the Bulgaria's cabins on the morning of July 25, when the ship had already run aground. The last victim was identified only on August 17, 2011.

The investigation into the case lasted about two years, and the trial began in May 2013. The criminal case consisted of 100 volumes, more than 1000 witnesses were questioned, more than 250 various examinations were carried out, more than 200 people were recognized as victims, about 50 of them filed claims for compensation for moral damage in the amount of 202 million rubles.

As the investigation and the court established, during the 2011 navigation season, the Bulgaria, built in Czechoslovakia in 1955, performed seven voyages, and breakdowns occurred on almost every one. The eighth, when the ship sailed in a storm with only one engine, with a faulty drainage system, a fuel pump that failed during the voyage, with a static right list and open portholes, was the last.

Moscow district court On July 7, 2014, Kazan sentenced the general director of ArgoRechTur LLC (the subtenant company of Bulgaria) Svetlana Inyakina, the senior officer of Bulgaria Ramil Khametov, the head of the Kazan linear department of the Volga department of the State Marine and River Supervision of Rostransnadzor Irek Timergazeev, the former chief state inspector of the same department Vladislav Semenov, senior expert of the Kama branch of Rosrechregister Yakov Ivashov to terms of 5 to 11 years in a general regime colony. Ivashov was released in the courtroom because, due to his age (65 years) and the assigned punishment (five years), he was granted an amnesty. As a result of the consideration of the case in the appellate instance, the panel of the Supreme Court of Tatarstan in April 2015 commuted the sentence for Inyakina, who was finally sentenced to 9.5 years in prison, and toughened the punishment for Ivashov - up to 5.5 years in prison. Ivashov was arrested and sent to the place where he was serving his sentence.

Context

Arkady Smolin, RAPSI correspondent

Moskovsky District Court of Kazan July 7 He sank on July 10, 2011 in the Kuibyshev Reservoir in Tatarstan, three kilometers from the shore. According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, there were 201 people on the ship at the time of the crash, of whom 122 died.

Institute of Personal Responsibility. Motor ship "Bulgaria"

This is the largest water disaster in recent Russian history. However, for all its extraordinary nature, it consisted of a set of typical elements of corruption and negligence, thanks to which the extreme nature of our tourist shipping could hardly be equated to that of the Philippines.

Three years ago, experts had no doubt that all the blame for the crash of the Bulgaria would be placed on the captain and his assistants, and they would be demonstrably punished. One fundamental, without exaggeration, vital question remained: what will happen to officials who, in the best traditions of Michael Bay, create scenarios for future disasters and ensure the functioning of a system of distributed responsibility where no one is interested in the result?
The catastrophic end of the Bulgaria, built in 1955 in Czechoslovakia, was predicted three months before the tragedy. On April 24, 2011, at a specialized forum, a message was addressed to the ship owners and regulatory authorities: “All the technical problems of the Bulgaria are known... If the ship owner, instead of solving these problems during the inter-navigation period, goes with them into a new navigation - all the blame for the possible consequences lies with the shipowner."

In order to prevent a disaster, it was enough to look at the technical documents of the ship. “A major overhaul was carried out on it 30 years ago, in 1980. There was no license to transport passengers. There was a malfunction of the left engine, the ship was overloaded,” Marina Gridneva, a representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office, announced the known facts after the disaster. In addition, the Bulgaria did not have internal bulkheads, which should keep the ship afloat in the event of a hole.

However, the Ministry of Transport recognized the ship as absolutely operational. “The next inspection of the motor ship “Bulgaria” was carried out on June 15, 2011. The technical condition of the vessel was found to be suitable in all respects. The life-saving equipment met the requirements of the rules of the Russian River Register,” the ministry said in a statement.

Even the passengers and crew of the motor ship "Bulgaria" tried to persuade the captain to stop the voyage, talking about breakdowns in the engine and pointing out the list of the ship, but the captain insisted on continuing the voyage, the crew's radio operator told the press. But no one and nothing could prevent the disaster. The question is, why, what is the true nature of this fate?

It's simple: the captain could not decide to go on a voyage, nor could he stop it, without indicating the owners of the company and the ship. “Someone gave him instructions to move on,” one of the crew members told the media. And overload, one of the factors that led to the shipwreck, was a direct consequence of the instructions presented to the captain of inflated demands to achieve the norm of revenue from the operation of the vessel, calculated by subtracting the cost of repairs from the amount of tickets sold. According to technical regulations, no more than 120 people could be on board the ship. In fact, there were almost twice as many of them.

The absence of the institution of personal responsibility not only allowed owners to operate unrepaired ships without life-saving equipment (as far as is known, the Bulgaria had only two self-expanding rafts, the number of which must be measured in dozens), and captains to agree to a deadly cruise. It also allowed the crew members, in violation of all written and unwritten rules, to save themselves (out of 33 crew members, 23 were saved), leaving passengers and children to perish.

What do we have in the end?

Perhaps thanks to the enormous resonance in the media surrounding the disaster, this time the court made a truly revolutionary decision, from the point of view of relevance and reform of legal consciousness. In fact, this is a precedent for the introduction of the institution of personal responsibility in Russia.

The general director of ArgoRechTur LLC, the sub-tenant of the sunken motor ship Bulgaria, Svetlana Inyakina, was sentenced to 11 years in a general regime colony. The court sentenced the head of the Kazan linear department of the Volga department of the State Marine and River Supervision of Rostransnadzor, Irek Timergazeev, and the former chief state inspector of the same department, Vladislav Semenov, to 6 and 5 years in a general regime colony, respectively. And the senior expert of the Kama branch of the Russian River Register, Yakov Ivashov, was sentenced to 5 years in prison, but he was released in the courtroom under an amnesty.

But the court found the former first mate of the sunken motor ship "Bulgaria" Ramil Khametov guilty only of violating the safety rules for operating water transport, and not at all of manslaughter, and sentenced him to 6.5 years in a general regime colony.

Captains: responsibility by default. Motor ship "Alexander Suvorov" and steamer "Admiral Nakhimov"

Before this court decision, almost always responsibility for any incident on the water was borne not by the owners who sent the unfit vessel to sail, but by the captains. For example, the captain of the Alexander Suvorov, Vladimir Kleimenov, was sentenced to ten years in prison.

The ship crashed on the Volga on June 5, 1983. In clear visibility, albeit in the twilight at 22:45, “Alexander Suvorov” at a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour entered the span of the Ulyanovsk railway bridge, unsuitable for large-sized shipping. The impact cut off the pilothouse and the entire upper deck along with the cinema hall. The death toll, according to various sources, ranged from 176 to 600 people. This uncertainty is due to the fact that the ship was overloaded.

Experts came to the conclusion that the cause of the disaster was four factors: the negligence of the first navigator, the negligence of the helmsman, the absence of signal lights on the bridge, and also the fact that on the span through which the ship could not pass, there was a lineman's booth, which in its outline resembled a ship's shield. span. In addition, by that time, ship captains had been complaining for several months about the emergency condition of the bridge and the adjacent section, but the railway workers had not taken the necessary measures.

Having studied all these factors, the investigation chose to place all the blame on the captain, who was resting in the cabin at the time of the collision. Since no bodily injuries were found on the captain, and the ship’s crew did not show any signs of discipline after the disaster, Kleimenov was also given responsibility for withdrawing from rescuing the victims. In the seventh year of imprisonment, the captain of the Alexander Suvorov was later released for health reasons and died of a heart attack a few months later.

Similar circumstances accompanied the “crime” of the captain of the steamship “Admiral Nakhimov” Vadim Markov. Actually, his guilt, for which he was sentenced to four years, was that the captain, having set the speed and course of the ship, headed to his cabin at 11 p.m. Second officer Chudnovsky remained on the bridge, who on August 31, 1986 discovered a dangerous approach to the dry cargo ship Pyotr Vasev at the exit from the port of Novorossiysk. He contacted him and clarified the divergence procedure, to which he received confirmation that the cargo ship was allowing the steamer through.

As a result, “Pyotr Vasev”, having managed to reduce the speed to only 5 knots, entered the middle of the starboard side of the ship. According to the official version, 423 passengers and crew members died as a result of the disaster. In March 1987, captains Markov and Viktor Tkachenko (“Peter Vasev”) were found guilty under Article 85 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (“Violation of traffic safety rules and operation of transport”): the first received four years, the second - ten years in prison (according to other sources, they both received 15 years in prison). In November 1992, by decrees of the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, both captains were pardoned and released.

Thus, instead of analyzing all the reasons that created the preconditions for the tragedy to occur (an emergency bridge, an ill-conceived system of signs, failures in the rules of movement along the bay...), searching for those responsible (at the risk of reaching too high a authorities), the investigation often shows similar negligence, throwing off all blame the captain, even if he could not have made a mistake, being in a dream at that moment.

Captains as cover. Costa Concordia liner and Novorossiysk battleship

However, in the 21st century, even in European countries, the situation has not changed much. As in the Middle Ages, captains bear responsibility for everything, and the policies of ship-owning companies and the actions of officials are almost never taken into account by the court. Even such a high-profile story as the sinking of the Costa Concordia, the “new Titanic,” will obviously end with a verdict for one captain. The only thing that might surprise you is the record length of imprisonment.

The prosecution proposed giving Captain Francesco Schettino 15 years in prison for causing death by negligence, 10 years for the sinking of the liner, 8 years for each of the more than 300 passengers remaining on board the Costa Concordia, after Schettino successfully completed the operation to save himself , and the same number of years for each deceased. In total, Schettino faces 2,697 years in prison.

You can find a certain logic in this; it is much more difficult to detect its signs in the actions of the investigation. Having studied numerous cases of violations of shipping rules committed by Schettino, the investigators and the court were not interested in the paradoxical fact: how Schettino managed to do this, starting his career at Costa Cruises (a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc) in 2002 as the head of the security service, already four years later, to be appointed captain of the Costa Concordia, despite the fact that, according to the rules, this requires twenty years of professional experience?

According to Der Spiegel, the company forgave Schettino's numerous antics and turned a blind eye to violations because Costa Cruises used his face for marketing purposes. Advertising pictures of the recent past showed Schettino standing on the bridge, confidently guiding his ship across the Hudson with the Manhattan skyline in the background. Such an exemplary captain admitted that he had already repeatedly performed that same fatal maneuver: he brought the ship closer to the shore of the island of Giglio to greet his friend, the former captain of the Costa Concordia, who lived there. It's hard to believe that none of the company's management knew about this.

The disaster occurred near the island of Giglio in the Mediterranean Sea on January 13, 2012, when there were 3,216 passengers from 62 countries and 1,023 crew members on board the liner. The ship deviated from course by 3-4 miles and hit a rock reef, receiving a hole 53 meters long and up to 7.3 meters wide. Costa Concordia crew failed rescue operation. For almost an hour after the collision, the captain prevented evacuation, twice announcing that the ship was simply having minor problems with its generator. Schettino himself, according to investigators, was one of the first to leave the ship, without sending a distress signal. Thus, he avoided the panic and crush that began closer to 11 p.m., when the list reached 30 degrees and a signal sounded, meaning that passengers had to leave the ship.

After 32 deaths were reported, Captain Schettino gave new testimony, accusing the manager of Carnival Corporation & plc, which owned the ship, of telling him where to sail and forcing him to come too close to the shore. However, this information did not have any judicial follow-up. It turns out that Russian justice, which imprisoned the company’s management, which, according to some sources, forced the captain of the faulty Bulgaria to board the flight, turned out to be more progressive than Italian justice.

Another interesting story of a water disaster that connects Russia and Italy even more closely, the mystery of the sinking of the battleship Novorossiysk, after more than half a century, may have received an unexpected outcome.

On the evening of October 28, 1955, the battleship returned from events celebrating the centenary of the defense of Sevastopol and took its place on the “barrel.” At half past one in the morning, an explosion equivalent to 1000-1200 kg of TNT was heard under the hull of the ship in the bow. It pierced the hull of the battleship, tore out part of the deck and punched a hole of 150 square meters in the underwater part. Since the bow cockpits were located at the site of the explosion, between 150 and 175 people were immediately killed.

The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Viktor Parkhomenko, who promptly arrived on the ship, stopped the towing of the battleship in shallow water. When he decided to personally give a similar order, it already turned out to be meaningless: the bow part sat on the ground. The admiral did not immediately allow the evacuation of the sailors not engaged in rescue work, of whom up to a thousand people had accumulated on the quarterdeck. When the decision to evacuate was made, the ship's roll began to rapidly increase. The battleship lay on its left side, buried its masts in the ground and soon completely disappeared under water. The disaster killed 604 people, including emergency consignments from other ships of the squadron.

According to the official version put forward by a government commission, the battleship was blown up by a bottom magnetic mine installed by the Germans in 1944 when leaving Sevastopol. Even then, this version raised great doubts among experts: the power sources of the bottom mines cleared in the fifties turned out to be discharged, and the fuses were inoperative.

As a result of the investigation, the following were demoted in rank and position, with a reprimand: Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy Nikolai Kuznetsov, Vice Admiral, Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Viktor Parkhomenko, Vice Admiral Nikolai Kulakov, Rear Admiral Anatoly Galitsky, Rear Admiral Nikolai Nikolsky. Since there was no way to blame the captain in this case, no one sat down.

And only in August 2013, former saboteur of the Italian special unit of combat swimmers Ugo D'Esposito told 4Arts that “the explosion of a Soviet battleship of the Black Sea Fleet in 1955 in the port of Sevastopol was the work of the Italian Navy. The command of the 10th flotilla did not want to see the Novorossiysk.” as a Soviet battleship. The ship, under the name Giulio Cesare, belonged to the Italian fleet until 1949.”

After this statement, Russian veteran sailors, many of whom became disabled after the incident, demanded an international investigation into the destruction of the ship.

XIX century as a starting point. Atlantic and Princess Alice

The current legislation of the Western world, aimed at captains, is apparently a legacy of the 19th century, when the code of maritime traditions was reduced by companies rushing in pursuit of the primary accumulation of capital to the sole responsibility of the captain, in order to avoid the risk of paying compensation.

Many books are dedicated to the series of grandiose shipwrecks of that century, the number of victims of which numbered in the hundreds. Out of a dozen examples, two can be identified that characterize the three main reasons for “lawlessness on the water”: inflated requirements for economic efficiency, poor knowledge of the seabed, and lack of development of laws and regulations. The captains were powerless in front of all three, which did not protect them from unfair accusations.

For example, it is believed that the English passenger steamer Atlantic was lost on the rocks off the coast of Nova Scotia on April 1, 1873 due to a navigational error by Captain Williams. The disaster, which claimed the lives of 547 people, was preceded by a strong storm that lasted several days. He forced the captain to slow down and go at a speed of five knots. The bad weather had a bad effect on the crew and passengers: fights became more frequent, and sailors began stealing alcohol from the warehouse.

Before going to sea, the captain received a strict requirement from the owners of the White Star company to arrive in New York exactly at the appointed time. White Star fought for control of the Atlantic Blue Ribbon by recruiting risk-taking young captains and forcing them to violate safety and common sense standards. However, on this voyage, due to the storm, the Atlantic was so behind schedule that there was enough coal left in its bunker for 15-20 hours, and enough water and food for two days, and there was another 740 km to go.

Captain Williams decided to go to the nearest port of Halifax, where he had never been before. A few tens of meters from the shore, the ship hit underwater rocks. Atlantic tilted to port, and all the boats on this side were washed away by huge waves. Twenty minutes later, the ship broke, the bow of the Atlantic capsized to the left side, and the stern, where almost all the women and children were, quickly sank. Captain Williams and First Officer Firth remained on the ship until the end.

When investigating the causes of the shipwreck, it turned out that the Atlantic ran into the rocks of the island of Mars behind the Sambro lighthouse, the fire of which was never seen through the fog by the second mate. He was looking for the light of the lighthouse on the port side, but in fact Atlantic should have left it on the starboard side. The captain was blamed for everything, but the punishment was relatively light: Williams was deprived of his captain's diploma.

The captain of Princess Alice, William Grinstead, found himself in an even more hopeless situation. On September 3, 1878, this English river excursion steamer sank on the Thames after colliding with the cargo ship Bywell Castle. As a result of the “Great Thames Tragedy,” more than 700 people died, most of whom were women and children.

These two ships noticed each other at half past seven in the evening, when visibility was excellent and the width of the Thames at the meeting point of the ships was approximately 500 meters. The only problem was that in those years in England there were no uniform rules for the separation of sea and river vessels on the river fairway.

While the steamships approached each other, darkness fell, and each of the captains was able to judge the course of the oncoming ship only by the position of the navigation lights. They did not understand each other's maneuvers; the collier hit the starboard side of the Princess Alice with its straight stem just behind the paddle wheel. The steamship's bow destroyed the engine room and actually cut the ship's hull in half.

The collision could still be attributed to an accident. Moreover, it is not entirely fatal. After the impact, the bow of Bywell Castle remained for some time in the hole in the side of the Princess Alice, which was still afloat. However, the main mistake was made by the coal miner's captain, Thomas Harrison, who gave the command "reverse". The stem of the steamer was freed from the hole, into which water poured in. The hull of Princess Alice almost immediately broke into two parts and sank.
The case was reviewed by the Admiralty Court, which came to the conclusion that the blame lay entirely with the deceased captain of Princess Alice. Harrison and the legislators were not involved in the tragedy.

Turning processes. Liners Empress of Ireland and La Bourgogne

Well, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, water disasters became so frequent and took on such enormous proportions that continuing to turn a blind eye to the inhumane policies of companies could undermine public trust in aquatic species transport in principle, not to mention retaliatory actions and the transformation of some ships into zones free from the law and laws of behavior.

An important precedent was the Empress of Ireland trial. This Canadian passenger airliner On May 29, 1914, during her regular voyage, she collided with the Norwegian coal carrier Sturstadt on the St. Lawrence River. After 14 minutes, it sank, killing 1014 people out of 1477. The details of the disaster are very reminiscent of what happened with Princess Alice - only the collision occurred a little later, at 2 am, and in heavy fog.

Sturstadt made the same mistake by backing up, but the Canadian court, perhaps to avoid further duplication of this fatal mistake, nevertheless blamed the coal carrier pilot for the death of the liner. The surviving captain of the Empress of Ireland was also among the suspects. A Canadian company won a lawsuit against A.F. Klaveness, owner of Sturstadt. The court ordered the owner to pay Canada $2 million. Unable to pay his bills, Klaveness was forced to sell the Sturstadt, which needed repairs, for $175,000 and declare bankruptcy. Thus, a precedent was created for holding the owner, and not just the captain or pilot, liable.

This was an extremely relevant precedent, since the actual irresponsibility of the remaining crew members, except the captain, led to the fact that ship crews forgot about all traditional norms of behavior on the ship and even became potentially dangerous to passengers.

After the La Bourgogne tragedy on July 4, 1898, it became obvious that if we continued to place all the blame on the captains, the passenger fleet would eventually turn into a pirate fleet.

La Bourgogne left New York with more than 597 passengers and 128 crew on board, and at about 5 a.m., near Sable Islands, in thick fog collided with the barque Cromartyshire. The boats on the starboard side of the liner were broken, the captain of La Bourgogne decided to throw the ship onto a sandbank, but the flooding proceeded quickly and less than an hour after the collision the liner sank.

However, this was only a prelude to the real catastrophe of humanism. As soon as the ship began to sink, a bloody orgy reigned on the deck. Many passengers were killed in the struggle for space in the lifeboats, in fights for life jackets, and even after the ship plunged into the abyss. The instigators of the riots were Austrian sailors. They began shooting at other passengers as they made their way to the lifeboats. Third class passengers followed their example: people from the lower classes used knives. When the liner sank, people swam to the boats or rafts, but those sitting in them beat the drowning people on the head with oars and cut the fingers that grabbed the sides.