TASS-DOSIER. On April 27, 2017, a research vessel sank in the Black Sea as a result of a collision with a merchant ship Black Sea Fleet RF "Liman".

This case is unprecedented in the history of the Soviet and Russian Navy after World War II.

After 1945, submarines became the victims of such navigational accidents. At least four such disasters are known:

• the submarine M-200 in 1956 in the Gulf of Tallinn collided with the destroyer "Statny" and sank, killing 28 sailors;
• S-342 in 1958, when leaving the Ekaterininsky harbor of the city of Polyarny, collided with the Alazan tanker, 7 people died, the submarine was subsequently restored;
• nuclear missile carrier K-56 in 1973 in Peter the Great Bay crashed into the research vessel "Akademik Berg", killing 27 sailors, the submarine was repaired;
• Submarine S-178 in the East Bosporus near the coast of Primorsky Krai collided with the vessel "Refrigerator-13" and sank, killing 32 submariners.

Major collisions surface ships, resulting in their death, human casualties or serious damage, there were very few in the Navy of the USSR and Russia. These include the following:

March 13, 1977 at the entrance to the Polish port of Swinoujscie, a small anti-submarine ship MPK-97 Baltic Fleet collided with the Swedish tanker Runo. The accident happened in heavy fog due to wrong actions commander of the MPK-97. The stem of the anti-submarine ship was broken, and the hull plating in the bow was torn off the tanker.

November 27, 1978 near the island of Toros in the Barents Sea, a small anti-submarine ship MPK-40 collided with a border ship "Sapphire". Both ships were severely damaged and underwent lengthy repairs.

August 11, 1982 During night exercises in the Desantnaya Bay (Vladivostok), landing ships BDK-181 and SDK-172 collided. Both received moderate injuries.

September 24, 1985 The training ship of the Baltic Fleet "Khasan", passing through the Bosphorus, collided with the Turkish missile boat Meltem in the fog. Turkish ship sank, the number of victims is unknown.

May 14, 1986 in the area of ​​the Bosporus Strait in fog conditions the motor ship "Kapitan Soroka" of the Black Sea shipping company, en route to Odessa, crashed into the Berezina supply ship of the Black Sea Fleet, which was leaving Sevastopol with a cargo of fuel, food and ammunition. On the Berezina, the board was torn apart, a fire broke out. However, the hole was repaired, the fire was extinguished, and the transport was able to return to Sevastopol on its own. There were no dead or injured.

August 23, 1986 in the area of ​​the Rybachy Peninsula (Murmansk region) submarine B-103 Northern Fleet hit the stem of the torpedoes "TL-995", after which it turned over with its keel up and sank. Seven people died.

September 8, 1988 in the Sea of ​​Japan, a small anti-submarine ship MPK-40 collided with a border guard PSKR-803. The reason was erroneous actions commanders during a dangerous approach. The ships received significant damage and were out of order for a long time.

December 8, 1988 in the Gulf of Riga, the medium-sized freezing fishing trawler "KI-8067" of the collective farm "For the Motherland", heading from Baltiysk to fish, slightly deepened into the area of ​​military exercises, where it collided with the patrol ship SKR-86 of the Baltic Fleet. The stem was deformed on the patrol boat, the trawler received a hole 0.7 m below the waterline and sank during towing. There were no victims.

In all the cases described above, the cause of the disasters was the errors of the crews who violated the established rules of navigation.

The world is familiar with many shipwrecks that shocked with their scale and horror of what happened. Quite a few terrible shipwrecks that entailed significant human casualties, and domestic history knows.

Top worst shipwrecks of the 20th century

As is known, modern ships equipped with the means to save a person's life. However, this was not always the case. Especially many large shipwrecks occurred in the last century.

Some disasters on the water occurred far at sea, and some - in coastal strip due to collision with reefs. The consequences can be frightening. Next, consider some of the most terrible shipwrecks in the history of mankind.

Steamboat "Sultana" (SS Sultana)

The wooden paddle steamer "Sultana" was built at the American shipyard in Cincinnati and launched in 1863. The ship suffered distress on April 27, 1865 on the Mississippi River near Memphis due to the explosion of a steam boiler.

Soldiers released from captivity were transported on the ship. 1653 people became victims of the disaster, 741 people were saved. This shipwreck in terms of the number of victims is the most major disaster XIX century.

Ferry "Donja Pas"

One of the largest shipwrecks of the 20th century occurred in 1987 - we are talking about the Doña Paz passenger ferry. For more than two decades, he regularly transported people, cruising along the coast of the Philippines and Japan.

Colliding with a tanker, a ferry in literally broke in half. A fire broke out and the passengers died in the fire. The number of victims of this terrible shipwreck is 4375 people.

Liner "Wilhelm Gustloff"

The cruise ship "Wilhelm Gustloff" belonged to one of the largest tour operators in the Third Reich. It was launched in 1937. The ship departed 50 cruises, and the cost of tickets was so low that even the working class could afford to travel on board it.

During the Second World War, the liner served as a hospital, and later became a barracks for submariners. In early 1945, the ship was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine. According to official figures, 5348 people died in that shipwreck. Historians also call a different number of victims - at least 9 thousand people.

The wreck of the Titanic

Who doesn't know about the Titanic? It seems that everyone has heard about this sensational shipwreck. The ship made only one voyage, which ended in disaster in 1912. Titanic according to the site, is included in the rating of the largest ships.

The victims of the shipwreck were 1513 people. Only 711 passengers survived. The Titanic sank under water in 160 minutes. This terrible disaster was reflected in the cinema: in 1997 he made a film with by the same name directed by James Cameron. The main roles in the film were played by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Cruise ship Costa Concordia

Costa Concordia is one of the largest European ships. A maritime disaster occurred on the night of January 13-14, 2012 in the Tyrrhenian Sea, near the Italian island of Giglio, during a cruise in the western Mediterranean. There were 4,229 people on board when the ship hit reefs and capsized. The crash killed 32 people.

6 people found guilty in Costa Concordia crash

The main culprit was the captain of the liner Francesco Schettino, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison. After this incident, the rules of maritime navigation and the passage of pre-trip briefings by passengers were tightened.

The worst shipwrecks in national history

Several major shipwrecks are also known in Russian history, and all of them caused huge human casualties. It is impossible not to recall the collapse of "Armenia", "Admiral Nakhimov" and "Novorossiysk". a terrible tragedy became for our country and the whole world the death of the submarine "Kursk", the shipwreck of "Bulgaria" and "Komsomolets".

"Armenia" sank in the fall of 1941 near the Crimea in just four minutes. The ship was transporting evacuated residents and wounded Red Army soldiers. Five thousand people died, and only 8 passengers could survive.

One of the largest water disasters in the USSR was the crash of the Admiral Nakhimov. He went from Novorossiysk to Sochi, carrying 1243 people. Due to the fact that the steamer rammed a grain carrier, it had a hole, and it sank in 7 minutes. This shipwreck occurred at the end of August 1986, and 423 people died then.

The name "Novorossiysk" in the USSR was given to a ship that previously belonged to the Italian Navy. At the end of October 1955, an explosion occurred in the bow of the ship, due to which a hole of 150 square meters was formed. meters. Novorossiysk sank with 604 people on board.

The ferry "Estonia" in September 1994, leaving the port of Tallinn, got into a storm, lost its bow, which caused it to fall on its side and drown. Rescue operation made difficult disaster, as a result of which 852 people went missing and died.

Our contemporaries know about the tragedy that happened to the Kursk nuclear submarine. The crash occurred in August 2000 due to explosions on board. The crew consisted of 118 people, there were no survivors.

In July 2011, there was another terrible shipwreck in national history- the sinking of the ship "Bulgaria", which cruised along the Volga. With a capacity of 140 people, there were 208 passengers on board. About 120 people were killed, many of them children. The disaster with the ship "Goya" is recognized as the worst shipwreck

The crash of the Goya is called the bloodiest disaster. It happened during the Second World War. The ship was used as an evacuation ship. At night, a Soviet submarine caught up with the Goya and attacked the ship. After 10 minutes, the Goya ship, along with all the passengers, went under water. On land, major incidents with human casualties. We invite you to learn more about the worst disasters in history.
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We all know about the ill-fated history of the Titanic, but few know that this tragedy was only the third largest loss in the history of shipping. Today we bring you a list of the 10 most terrible disasters that occurred on the water.

1. MV Wilhelm Gustloff.
In January 1945, this German ship was hit by three torpedoes in the Baltic Sea while participating in the evacuation. civilians, military personnel and Nazi officials who were surrounded by the Red Army in East Prussia. The ship sank in less than 45 minutes. More than 9,400 people are estimated to have died.

2. MV Dona Paz.
This Philippine ferry sank after colliding with the oil tanker MT Vector on December 20, 1987. More than 4300 people died. Collision happened late at night and led to a fire, and life jackets were locked, forcing passengers to jump into the burning water, which was also infested with sharks.

3. RMS Lusitania.
This British liner sailed on the Liverpool-New York route. During World War I, the ship was hit by German torpedoes on 7 May 1915 and sank within only 18 minutes of impact. The crash killed 1,198 people out of 1,959 on board.

4. RMS Lancastria.
This British ocean liner was requisitioned by the government during World War II. She sank on June 17, 1940, taking 4,000 lives with her. This disaster caused the death more people than the sinking of the Titanic and the Lusitania combined.

5. RMS Empress of Ireland.
This Canadian liner sank in the St. Lawrence River after colliding with a Norwegian bulk carrier on May 29, 1914 due to heavy fog. 1012 people died (840 passengers and 172 crew members).

6. MV Goya.
The German transport ship MV Goya was carrying 6,100 passengers when it was sunk by a Soviet submarine in the Baltic Sea on April 16, 1945. The ship sank just 7 minutes after the impact. Almost all the people on board died. Only 183 people survived.

7. USS Indianapolis (CA-35).
On July 30, 1945, Indianapolis was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-58 and sank 12 minutes later. Out of 1196 people, only 300 survived.

8. MV Le Joola.
A Senegalese ferry capsized off the Gambian coast on September 26, 2002, killing at least 1,863 people. As it became known, the ferry was overloaded, therefore, faced with a storm, it capsized after 5 minutes. Only 64 people survived.

9. SS Mont-Blanc.
This French ammunition freighter exploded in Halifax Harbor on December 6, 1917. The explosion caused the death of 2,000 people, including residents of the city. The explosion was triggered by a collision with the Norwegian ship SS Imo. The fire that resulted from the collision caused an explosion of ammunition that destroyed the harbor and the city.

10. RMS Titanic.
This is perhaps the most famous maritime tragedy of all time. The Titanic was a passenger liner that sank in the northern part of Atlantic Ocean April 15, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. The sinking of the Titanic claimed 1,514 human lives.

For hundreds of years of sailing on various ships, sailboats and barges across the expanses of the seas and oceans, there have been many kinds of accidents and shipwrecks. Films have even been made about some of them, the most popular of which, of course, is the Titanic. But which shipwrecks were the largest in terms of the size of the ship and the number of victims? In this ranking, we answer this question by presenting the biggest maritime disasters.

11

The rating opens with the British passenger liner, which was torpedoed by the German submarine U-20 on May 7, 1915, in the zone designated by the Kaiser government as the zone submarine warfare. The ship, sailing with a painted over name and not raising any flag above it, sank in 18 minutes, 13 kilometers from the coast of Ireland. 1198 people died out of 1959 who were on board. The destruction of this ship set public opinion many countries against Germany and contributed to the entry of the United States into the First world war two years later.

10

Single-screw steamer, had a capacity of 7142 register tons, a length of 132 meters, a beam of 17 meters, a maximum speed of 11 knots. April 12, 1944 steamer with explosives total weight more than 1,500 tons stood up for unloading at the pier of the port of Bombay. There were other cargoes on board - 8,700 tons of cotton, 128 ingots of gold, sulfur, wood, engine oil, etc. The ship was loaded in violation of safety regulations. At about 2 p.m. a fire broke out on board, and no actions contributed to its elimination. At 16:06 there was an explosion, which generated a tidal wave of such force that the Jalampada ship, with a displacement of almost 4,000 tons, ended up on the roof of a 17-meter warehouse. After 34 min. there was a second explosion.

Burning cotton scattered within a radius of 900 meters from the epicenter and set fire to everything: ships, warehouses, houses. A strong wind from the sea drove a wall of fire to the city. The fires were extinguished only after 2 weeks. It took about 7 months to restore the port. Official statistics announced 1376 deaths, 2408 people were admitted to hospitals. The fire destroyed 55,000 tons of grain, thousands of tons of seeds, oil, oil; great amount military property and almost one square mile of city blocks. 6 thousand firms went bankrupt, 50 thousand people lost their jobs. Many small and 4 large ships, tens .

9

It was with this ship that the most famous disaster on the water. The British White Star Line steamer was the second of three Olympic-class twin steamers and the largest passenger liner in the world at the time of construction. Gross tonnage 46,328 register tons, displacement 66,000 tons. The ship is 269 meters long, 28 meters wide and 52 meters high. The engine room had 29 boilers and 159 coal fireboxes. Max speed 25 knots. On its maiden voyage on April 14, 1912, it collided with an iceberg and sank 2 hours and 40 minutes later. There were 2224 people on board. Of these, 711 people were saved, 1513 died. The Titanic disaster became legendary, several feature films were shot based on its plot.

8

In the harbor of the Canadian city of Halifax on December 6, 1917, a French military cargo ship"Mont Blanc", which was fully loaded with one explosive - TNT, pyroxylin and picric acid, with the Norwegian ship "Imo". As a result of the strongest explosion, the port and a significant part of the city were completely destroyed. About 2,000 people died as a result of an explosion under the rubble of buildings and because of the fires that arose after the explosion. Approximately 9,000 people were injured, 400 people lost their sight. The explosion in Halifax is one of the strongest explosions arranged by mankind, this explosion is considered powerful explosion pre-nuclear era.

7

This french auxiliary cruiser served as a flagship and participated in the neutralization of the Greek fleet. Displacement - 25,000 tons, length - 166 meters, width - 27 meters, power - 29,000 horsepower, speed - 20 knots, cruising range - 4,700 miles at 10 knots. She sank in the Mediterranean off the coast of Greece on February 26, 1916 after a torpedo attack. German submarine U-35. Of the 4,000 people on board, 3,130 died, 870 escaped.

6

After 1944, this German passenger ocean liner was converted into a floating hospital, participated in the evacuation of mostly wounded soldiers and refugees from East Prussia from the advancing Red Army. The liner left the port of Pillau on February 9, 1945 and headed for Kiel, with more than 4,000 people on board - wounded military personnel, soldiers, refugees, medical staff and crew members. On the night of February 10 at 00:55, the Soviet submarine S-13 torpedoed the liner with two torpedoes. The ship sank 15 minutes later, killing 3,608 and saving 659 people. When the liner was torpedoed, the submarine commander was convinced that in front of him was not a passenger liner, but a military cruiser.

5

The passenger ferry Dona Paz, registered in the Philippines, sank on December 20, 1987 at about 10 p.m. near the island of Marinduque after a collision with the tanker Vector. Approximately 4,375 people died in the process, making this the largest maritime disaster in history. Peaceful time.

4

This passenger-cargo ship of the "Adzharia" type was built at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad in 1928, and on November 7, 1941, it was sunk by the Germans near the Crimean coast. The death toll was, according to various estimates, from 3,000 to 4,500 people. On the ship were several thousand wounded soldiers and evacuated citizens, including the staff of 23 military and civilian hospitals, the leadership of the pioneer camp and part of the party leadership of the Crimea. The loading of the evacuees was in a hurry, and their exact number is not known. There is a version that the cause of this maritime disaster was the criminal mistakes of the Black Sea Fleet command. The crowded motor ship, instead of making the transition to the Caucasian, was sent by the command to Yalta.

3

A cargo ship built in Oslo, Norway, launched on 4 April 1940. It was confiscated by the Germans after Norway was occupied by Germany. At first it was used as a conditional target for training the crews of German submarines. Later, the ship took part in the evacuation of people by sea from the advancing Red Army. It was armed with cannons. This ship managed to make four trips, in which 19,785 people were evacuated. On the night of April 16, 1945, the ship making the fifth trip was torpedoed by the Soviet submarine L-3, after which the Goya sank in the Baltic Sea. More than 6,900 people died in the disaster.

2

On May 3, 1945, a tragedy occurred in the Baltic Sea, the victims of which were approximately 8,000 people. The German liner "Cap Arkona" and the cargo ship "Tilbek", transporting prisoners from the evacuating concentration camps, were fired upon by British aircraft. As a result, more than 5,000 people died on the Cap Arkona, and about 2,800 on the Tilbek. According to one version, this raid was a mistake on the part of british air force who believed that the ships were German troops, according to another, the pilots were ordered to destroy all enemy ships in the area.

1

The most on the water happened with this German passenger liner, which since 1940 has been converted into a floating hospital. During the Second World War, it was used as an infirmary, a hostel for the 2nd training brigade of submariners. The death of the ship, torpedoed on January 30, 1945 by the Soviet submarine S-13 under the command of A. I. Marinesko, is considered biggest disaster in maritime history According to some historians, real losses could be more than 9,000 people.

At 21:16 the first torpedo hit the bow of the ship, later the second blew up the empty pool where the women of the naval auxiliary battalion were, and the last one hit the engine room. By the joint efforts of the crew and passengers, some lifeboats managed to launch, and yet in ice water turned out to be a lot of people. From the strong roll of the ship, an anti-aircraft gun came off the deck and crushed one of the boats, full of people. About an hour after the attack, the Wilhelm Gustloff completely sank.

The sinking of the Titanic after a collision with an iceberg in 1912 became a symbol of all major events for decades to come. maritime disasters that took place in peacetime. By the end of the 20th century, people again began to have the illusion that tragedies of this kind had gone down in history. The retribution for such delusions always turns out to be cruel.

On August 31, 1986, a catastrophe occurred in the Tsemess Bay near Novorossiysk, which later became known as the "Soviet Titanic". But, unlike the history of 1912, in this case there was no iceberg - the crash was exclusively the work of human hands.

Trophy "Berlin"

The Soviet cruise ship "Admiral Nakhimov" was launched in March 1925 in Lobbendorf, Germany, and received the name "Berlin". In the early years of its existence, Berlin operated flights from Germany to New York. By the end of the 1930s, transatlantic voyages became unprofitable, and the ship was transferred to Mediterranean cruises.

With the outbreak of World War II, the Berlin was converted into a hospital ship and was used as such until 1945. In January 1945, she hit a mine near the port of Swinemünde and sank at a shallow depth. In 1947, the ship was raised by Soviet divers and sent for partial repairs to the docks of the Kronstadt port. The ship that became a trophy received a new name - "Admiral Nakhimov", after which he went to his homeland, to Germany. In the GDR, the steamer hung up overhaul and in 1957 became part of the Black Sea Shipping Company.

"Berlin", 1920s. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Prestigious holidays and special operations

"Admiral Nakhimov" became in the USSR a symbol of a prestigious cruise vacation, hitherto unfamiliar Soviet citizens. However, sometimes it was used for other purposes. Yes, during Caribbean Crisis Soviet military personnel were transferred to Cuba on board, and in 1979 - Cuban military personnel to carry out secret mission in Africa.

In the history of "Admiral Nakhimov" there were flights with pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, and swimming with the participants of the World Festival of Youth and Students. The ship had an exceptional reputation - for almost three decades of its operation in the USSR, not a single serious incident was recorded with its participation.

Time, however, made itself felt - in the 1980s, the Admiral Nakhimov changed long-distance flights to cruises on the Black Sea. These cruises were wildly successful among the unspoiled residents of the USSR.

The promenade deck of the Admiral Nakhimov in 1957. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Flight Odessa - Batumi - Odessa

August 29, 1986 "Admiral Nakhimov" went on a regular flight on the route Odessa - Batumi - Odessa with calls to Yalta, Novorossiysk and Sochi. The cruise was supposed to end on September 5th. After leaving Odessa, the ship safely reached Yalta, and then at 14:00 on August 31 arrived in Novorossiysk. At 22:00, the liner was to leave the port and head for Sochi. There were 1243 people on board: 346 crew members and 897 passengers.

Since 1984, he has been the captain of the Admiral Nakhimov Vadim Markov, an experienced sailor who had a job on the lines of foreign navigation. Captain Markov knew his ship very well, and the exit from the port did not promise any dangers.

According to the message of the vessel traffic control post (PRDS), at that moment the only ship approached the port of Novorossiysk - the dry cargo ship "Pyotr Vasev", carrying Canadian barley. Captain commanded the cargo ship Viktor Tkachenko, who said that he would miss the steamer leaving the bay.

"Pyotr Vasyov" goes towards

With a delay of 10 minutes from the schedule, "Admiral Nakhimov" unmoored and rushed to the exit from the port. The steamer passed the gates of the port, entered the course 154.2 and began to follow the direction of the buoys of the Penai banks, which were located at the exit from the bay.

Peace reigned on board. Some of the passengers went to sleep, some were going to a movie show, the youth were at a disco in the music room, some people were in bars.

At this time, Captain Tkachenko once again confirmed that Pyotr Vasyov would let the Admiral Nakhimov through. Tkachenko transmitted the same information via radio communication to the second assistant to the captain of the Admiral Nakhimov. Alexander Chudnovsky, who at 23:00 took over the watch from Captain Markov. Tkachenko and Chudnovsky agreed that the ships would part on their starboard sides. Captain Tkachenko was guided by the indications of ARPA - an automated radar plotting system. The data of this device indicated that the ships would safely disperse.

But Chudnovsky, who was on the Admiral Nakhimov, who was observing the situation visually, already at about 23:05 discovered that the ships were heading for a dangerous approach. The officer on duty contacted Tkachenko again, clarifying: “Pyotr Vasyov” definitely misses the steamer? Captain Tkachenko confirmed: yes, everything is in order.

"Pyotr Vasyov". Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

"Work back immediately!"

In the meantime, there were those on the Pyotr Vasyov who saw that the situation was developing in a dangerous direction. Mate Zubuk drew Tkachenko's attention to the fact that the bearing on the "Admiral Nakhimov" practically does not change, which indicates the threat of a collision. At the same time, Zubuk pointed to the lights of the ship, which indicated that the ships were approaching a collision.

Captain Tkachenko looked only at the device with inexplicable obstinacy for several more minutes. And only then, finally looking where Zubyuk was pointing, he realized with horror - "Pyotr Vasyov" on high speed flies straight at the Admiral Nakhimov.

Captain Tkachenko began to give commands to the engine room - "medium forward", "small forward". These half-measures no longer helped, and Tkachenko's last command was: "Stop, full back!" However, a heavy cargo ship cannot change direction instantly. "Pyotr Vasev" continued to go to the "Admiral Nakhimov". On the ship, the officer on duty to the captain Alexander Chudnovsky radioed to the dry cargo ship: “Work back immediately!”. The helmsman of the "Admiral Nakhimov" was given the command: "Left aboard!".

"Nakhimov" went to the bottom in 8 minutes

This did not help - at 23:12 there was a collision. "Pyotr Vasev" at a speed of 5 knots entered at an angle of 110 ° in the middle of the starboard side of the ship. In the underwater part, the bulk carrier entered with its protruding part, the bulb, into the hull of the Admiral Nakhimov for several meters in the bulkhead area between the engine and boiler rooms. "Admiral Nakhimov" continued to move forward by inertia, turning the cargo ship and thereby increasing the size of the hole in the starboard side, which eventually amounted to about 80 square meters.

A huge hole led to the rapid flooding of the ship. In just 30 seconds, the engine room was filled with water. The ship began to roll to starboard. Emergency lighting, which switched on instead of the main one, worked for only two minutes. Many people were locked in cabins inside the sinking ship. All that the team members managed to do was launch inflatable rafts. 8 minutes after the collision, at 23:20, "Admiral Nakhimov" went under water, leaving hundreds of people fighting for their lives on the surface. Among them was not the assistant captain Alexander Chudnovsky. The sailor, realizing that the ship was dying, pronounced a death sentence on himself - having gone down to his cabin, he locked himself in it and, together with the Admiral Nakhimov, went to the bottom.

More than 60 ships rescued dying people

The first to approach the crash site was a small pilot boat LK-90, heading for the "Pyotr Vasyov" to escort it to the pier. "Admiral Nakhimov" sank in front of the crew members of the boat.

At 23:35 LK-90 proceeded to rescue people. 118 people were lifted on board a small boat, which is much more than the allowable load. Then the rescued began to be transferred to other approaching ships. At this time, the captain of the port of Novorossiysk Popov ordered all watercraft to go to the disaster area to save people. Tugs, small and raid boats, boats of border troops, "comets" on hydrofoils - a total of 64 vessels took part in the rescue operation.

Had to work in difficult conditions strong wind, waves up to two meters. But the sailors did everything possible and impossible. Cadets of the Novorossiysk Higher naval engineering school, raised in alarm, went out to sea on skiffs, themselves risking death.

The crew of the dry-cargo ship Pyotr Vasyov also took part in the rescue operation, raising 36 people on board. Of the 1243 people on board, 423 were killed: 359 passengers and 64 crew members. Among the dead were 23 children.

Who is guilty?

A large government commission arrived from Moscow, headed by the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Heydar Aliyev, and with it a large investigation team.

As a result, both captains went to court - Viktor Tkachenko and Vadim Markov received 15 years in prison. Markov, who miraculously survived the crash, was blamed for his absence from the bridge. At the time of the disaster, the captain was in the cabin of the head of the KGB department for the Odessa region, Major General Krikunova where he was invited to dinner. Unlike Markov, General Krikunov died with his family.

For thirty years in the crash of "Admiral Nakhimov" whoever and what they were accused of - and anomalous zone, and the Soviet system, and the dilapidation of the ship, and saboteurs ... The story about the usual "human factor" cut many ears. "Admiral Nakhimov" took two more human lives already after the crash - two divers died, raising the bodies of the victims to the surface. After that, work on the ship was stopped, and the bodies of 64 people remained inside the Admiral Nakhimov hull.

The captain of the "Peter Vasyov" went to Israel and died in a shipwreck.

In 1992, after the collapse of the USSR, the presidents of Russia and Ukraine pardoned the convicted captains.

Vadim Markov, after his release, returned to Odessa, worked in the Black Sea Shipping Company as a captain-mentor. Due to persecution by the relatives of the deceased, his family had to change their place of residence several times. In 2007, the captain of the Admiral Nakhimov died of cancer.

The captain of the "Peter Vasyov" Viktor Tkachenko, taking his wife's surname - Tallor, moved to permanent residence in Israel, hoping that there the story of the death of the "Admiral Nakhimov" would cease to interfere with his life. In 2003, the yacht, driven by Victor Tallor, was wrecked off the coast of Newfoundland. The wreckage of the yacht and the remains of people found on the coast of Canada.

The area of ​​the Tsemess Bay, where the Admiral Nakhimov lies at a depth of 47 meters, is officially the burial place of the victims of the disaster. Anchoring, dives of divers and underwater vehicles, as well as any actions that disturb the peace of the burial place, are prohibited in the specified area.