Mechanic Tarasov (ship)

A TASS report dated February 18, 1982 stated:

“According to data received by the USSR Ministry of the Navy, the Soviet container ship Mechanic Tarasov, sailing from the Canadian port of Quebec to Leningrad, sank in the Newfoundland area, falling into a zone of severe storm.
Rescue operations underway in this zone are extremely difficult due to the ongoing hurricane. There are human casualties. ”

The ship “Mechanic Tarasov” was built at a shipyard in Finland according to the domestic design and was considered a modern ship for this class, although experts were not completely sure of its seaworthiness: the hull had a wide stern, very high sides and wide “spreading” bow cheekbones. This form, even with moderate sea waves, contributes to intense keel rolling. Experts believe that, due to their design, ships like the Tarasov Mechanic were not at all suitable for sailing in the open ocean and were mainly used at sea.

In the last voyage, the ship left the Canadian port of Trois-Rivieres heading for Hamburg , despite the warning of weather forecasters about the impending storm. Then the ship was supposed to follow to Leningrad .

The first disturbing news from the ship came to the Baltic Shipping Company (BMP) on February 13, 1982. It was reported that the "Tarasov Mechanic" received a constant roll. In the conditions of a severe storm raging over the Atlantic, this circumstance could lead to serious complications. Tarasov was carrying rolls of newsprint and containers from Canada. Immediately a commission was created to save the ship. Gennady Chistov, deputy chief for maritime safety of the BMP, was appointed its chairman. It was suggested that the roll arose as a result of the displacement of the load. The captain of the vessel, Anatoly Bylkin, decided to fill the ballast tank with overboard water from the opposite bank. Time passed, the pumps worked, but the roll of the vessel did not decrease, but increased. With a great delay, it was found that a heavy container breaking from the mounts broke through the wall of the ballast tank, and the water pumped into it poured into the hold, exacerbating the situation. When the reason for the strange behavior of the ship was found out, Bylkin ordered the pump to be turned on to pump water from the hold. But wet paper quickly clogged the inlet filters of the pump, making it difficult to pump water. At this time, huge waves brought down two columns of bilge fans located on the bow of the vessel. Two huge holes formed in the deck, where hundreds of tons of water began to be poured with each new wave. The situation was becoming critical. The ship's roll already exceeded 35 degrees, and the bow was quickly submerged in water.

On this day, February 15, not only Soviet sailors were in a difficult situation. The American Ocean Ranger oil platform, located in the same area, received a dangerous roll under the pressure of the elements and was forced to file an SOS. But to help the Americans in such a situation would be real madness.

Despite the fact that it was time for the Tarasov Mechanic to submit SOS on an international wave, captain Bylkin decided not to do this. He limited himself to a radiogram in the shipping company asking for help. Of the Soviet vessels, the Kaliningrad large freezing fishing trawler KB-0244 Ivan Dvorsky was closest to the scene of the accident. Immediately in full swing he went to the meeting "Mechanic Tarasov." But they were separated by 100 nautical miles or, given the stormy weather, 14 hours on the move.

At this time, the Faroese fishing vessel Sigurfari approached the Mechanic Tarasov. Captain Michchial Olsen subsequently recalled: “It was dark, it was snowing, and nothing was visible around. We went upwind and soon on the radar screen at a distance of 7-8 miles we found a large ship. When they came closer and contacted him by radio telephone, they answered us: “We are Russians. A rescue ship is coming to us. ”

Seeing the emergency state of Tarasov, Captain Olsen decided to stay nearby, believing that his help might still be needed. And so it happened. When Olsen saw that the “Tarasov Mechanic” had torn off the boat in waves, he again got in touch and asked: “Are there people there?” They answered him: “Everything is still on board.”

The Soviet captain also refused the help of the pilots of Canadian helicopters, who also responded to the call for help. They circled the ship until the very last moment, until the ship sank, and later coordinated the rescue operation conducted by the sailors from the Sigurfari. But the pilots themselves could no longer provide real help. Their rescue equipment allowed evacuation from the board, but not from the stormy sea.

At the last moment, when the ship was about to go under water, the Ivan Dvorsky fishing trawler approached him, but he could not help. On the night of February 16, 1982, the Tarasov Mechanic turned over and went under water. Pulling a drowning man on the high sides of the trawler proved to be impossible. The sailors of "Ivan Dvorsky" were able to raise only one person, who later died from hypothermia.

The Faroevs managed to bring nine Soviet sailors aboard. They were rubbed with alcohol, wrapped in warm clothes. But only five were saved. The remaining crew members of the Tarasov Mechanic died from hypothermia.

The captain of Sigurfari was especially remembered that the captain continued to speak from the bridge over the radiotelephone at a time when the ship went under water. “We did not have a tape recorder to record his speech. We do not know what he was saying. " Since then, Olsen has been tormented by the question: what did the Russian captain convey before his death?

Later, the Leningrad large freezing fishing trawler NB-0559 Tolbachik approached the crash area. When the storm died down the next day, the ships had only to collect the bodies floating on the surface of the ocean. As the writer Viktor Konetsky later noted, there was something symbolic in the fact that Tolbachik and Ivan Dvorsky rushed to the aid of Mechanic Tarasov. “Although we always try to get around fishermen at a respectful distance, I am sincerely convinced that the most marine sailors are fishermen ...”, wrote Konetsky. All this is true, but the result was zero.

An investigation into the causes of the Tarasov Mechanic shipwreck led to many questions about the stormy seaworthiness of the merchant ships of the newest ships at that time, and the correct actions of Captain Anatoly Bylkin. However, numerous discussions about the sunken ship, mainly of a technical and political nature, led to the fact that the conclusion of the commission investigating the death of the ship, spelled out the technical reasons for the tragedy. After that, some changes were made to the design of the same type of rockers, and their use on transatlantic lines was stopped. However, disputes over the captain's guilt or innocence continue to this day.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 11, 1982, for the courage and dedication shown in fulfilling maritime and international duty while rescuing the sailors of the Soviet ship "Mechanic Tarasov", the captain of the Sigurfari trawler Michchial Olsen was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples , and the remaining 24 members the crew of the Faroese vessel - the medal " For the rescue of drowning " ^{[1] [2] [3]} .

Vessels of this type ("Mechanics of the Eugraphs") were used only on European lines. Captain A. Bylkin decided to conduct an experiment on the passage of such ships in Canada. He obtained permission from the leadership of the Baltic Shipping Company for this voyage and failed.

• The history of stormy seaworthiness from antiquity to the present day [Text : Based on materials from search and scientific research. works: Kaliningrad, 1975. - Vladivostok - St. Petersburg - Sakhalin, 2003.] / Ed. ed. V.N. Khramushin; authors V.N. Khramushin, S.V. Antonenko, A.A. Komaritsyn, P.F. Brovko, A.E. Soldatenkov, O.E.Surov, A.V. Fayn, V.A. Shustin, Yu.I. Nedorez, A.S. Vtyurina, M.L. Red, A.E. Malashenko. - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: Sakhalin Book Publishing House, 2004. - 281, 6 p. - ISBN 5-7442-1363-5 ISBN 5-88453-062-5 . (inaccessible link)

• Mishakov V. SOS is forbidden to serve // SECRETLY SECRET. - 2010. - No. 12 dated 12/01/2010 .
• Photograph of the ship February 2, 1982