The first steamship in Belarus. “The captain of a steamship can earn $22 thousand a month.” A sailor from Brest about romance and money. Steamship "Great East"

The Baltic Sea closest to Belarus is located hundreds of kilometers from the borders of the republic. And yet, those Belarusians who believe that the republic has its own Navy are right. And that's why. For example, in the Russian Northern Fleet, Minsk patronizes the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov from the operational squadron, the Grodno region takes care of the nuclear submarine Obninsk, and the hero city of Brest and the region cherish “their” small anti-submarine ship of the Kola Flotilla. There are also registered Belarusian warships in the Baltic. According to naval commanders, the assistance to the Russian Navy coming from the fraternal republic is very significant, both in goods and in money.

But Belarusians not only patronize the ships of the Russian Navy, they actually participate in the naval shipbuilding program. As we were informed at the General Staff of the Navy, a number of naval departments ordering equipment and weapons are working very productively with Belarusian enterprises. For obvious reasons, these factories and joint stock companies of Belarus were not named to us. However, it is quite possible to assume that the Belarusian production association Integral supplies microcircuits of medium and high degrees of integration for the latest Russian warships. By the way, this is one of the surviving radio-electronic industry enterprises in the CIS, which survived the difficult conditions of the first years of transition to the market. It is economically beneficial for the Republic to participate in the Russian ocean-going shipbuilding program.

At the end of this August, the largest-scale exercises in the Far East in the last 20 years ended. In addition to the Ministry of Defense, other security forces fought against terrorists, poachers, state border violators. One of the culminating events of the exercise was the launch of a cruise missile strike from a Tu-160 strategic bomber against an intruder ship in the Bering Sea. By the way, it was on this giant plane that Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov was in the co-pilot’s seat.

In the early 90s, entire foreign poaching fleets firmly established themselves in the strategically important and richest Far East. Even spawning rivers were blocked so tightly with nets that not only large red fish could not get there, but fry did not swim into Russian waters. The country's economy suffered colossal damage. Now the entire Russian military organization has stood in the way of foreign and, together with them, Russian predators. And this was confirmed in a conversation with a SOYUZ correspondent by the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Fleet Admiral Vladimir KUROEDOV.

The conversation with the commander-in-chief took place in two stages. He directly supervised the exercises and bore enormous responsibility for the maneuvers that unfolded over a vast territory. But he still found time to answer questions from a war correspondent for the SOYUZ newspaper. The first part of the conversation took place at the Ukrainka military airbase. According to the admiral, the exercises should help determine the tasks and place of the Navy in the fight against terrorism in a state of emergency. Only with such exercises can we find out why the most important state of emergency law for the state, adopted back in 2001, does not work. Therefore, the President of the Russian Federation ordered large-scale exercises of our entire military state organization to be held in all regions of Russia.

The second time I managed to talk with the admiral on the boat of the commander of the Pacific Fleet. The boat passed by warships. More recently they performed in Indian Ocean combat training tasks. Admiral Kuroyedov spoke about the Russian shipbuilding naval program.

We need such a fleet, he said, so that we have the ability to protect and defend our interests in any zone of the World Ocean.

And then he seemed to ask himself a rather difficult question: how can such a fleet be built for Russia under the current conditions?

On this strategically important issue, the commander-in-chief relies on the opinions and conclusions of scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences and military research centers. According to him, it is necessary to build ships for the near sea zone, and only then start working on ships for the oceans.

Fortunately for us,” Vladimir Ivanovich explained the concept of the expensive shipbuilding program, “the ocean-going ships and submarines left to Russia from the former Navy of the Soviet Union allow our current fleet to solve all the necessary problems for another 15-20 years. There is enough resource. That’s why we are now conducting exercises in Indian, Atlantic Oceans, various seas. This potential is our support.

But with the ships of the near zone, which ensure the deployment of the main forces, the situation is very difficult. Therefore, the lead ships of the near sea zone have now been laid down, but this year the construction of an ocean-going combat ship will begin at one of the Russian shipyards. According to Russian naval doctrine, such ships will now be multi-functional. Russia abandoned the expensive program to create a fleet consisting of a series of identical ships - artillery, anti-submarine, missile. Now ocean-going ships will combine all these qualities.

At the same time for submarine fleet Nuclear and diesel submarines will continue to be built. However, giant nuclear submarines with a displacement of up to 20 thousand tons will no longer be created. As Admiral Kuroyedov said, the maximum displacement of the submarines will be up to 12 thousand tons. Apparently, this figure is scientifically substantiated and verified as the most optimal. At the same time, the admiral added that he would really not like to lay down such a shipbuilding program that subsequent commanders-in-chief “will redo it and scold Kuroedov, saying that he didn’t finish looking at it, didn’t calculate everything.” After all, the fleet itself is not just a mass of ships with crews located in their bases. First of all, covering the state in strategic directions. For Belarus, these are primarily the Baltic regions and the northern seas. From there by sea cargo is delivered to the republic. And these areas are precisely designed to support and protect the Baltic and Northern fleets. So far, Russian naval power is enough for this, but what will happen in a couple of decades? Admiral Kuroyedov refused to create new aircraft carriers.

Today and for the next five to seven years, I don’t see any tasks for aircraft carriers,” he said frankly. - For the safety of carrier-based aviation, we have one aircraft carrier. He will live for many more decades. We will not lose schools.

It is likely that the admiral did not mention another important circumstance: in the current economic conditions, the construction of aircraft carriers is very expensive. Investing huge amounts of money in them will hinder the development of other much-needed naval defense programs. And, according to experts, Admiral Kuroyedov this moment chose the most optimal option for the development of the Navy.

Two American submarines secretly observed the exercises at sea from under the water. One was located at Cape Povorotny near Nakhodka, and the other off the coast of Kamchatka. And these submarines were detected in a timely manner by the latest Russian system, which was created over the past two years. Now from Primorye to Anadyr, the entire underwater, surface and air situation for 400 kilometers is visible at the naval command post. Not a single plane or ship will approach our borders undetected. This system was created primarily by the Ministry of Defense with the direct participation of the Ministry of Transport and the State Fisheries Committee. It allows you to quickly manage all law enforcement agencies in a huge region. At the Pacific Fleet command post, those on duty closely monitored the evolution of the American submarine off the coast of Kamchatka. In a few years, this system of issuing the most current information to the military and civilian leadership of Russia will cover the entire country.

And one more thing the latest system Admiral Kuroyedov said. So far it only covers the Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories. But in the future it will also spread to the entire country. It was created by the same three ministries and also Roshydromet. It provides hydrometeorological support to the fleet.

The creation of this system, noted Admiral Kuroyedov, is already improving the effectiveness of combat forces by almost 50 percent. By 2005-2006 it will spread to all Russian fleets.

In addition, the fleet has already created satellite video communications. From the Navy command post in Moscow, you can communicate in video mode with any warship or aircraft anywhere in the World Ocean. In a normal conversation, consult with commanders, indicate the most likely course of action in a specific situation. Satellites of any ministries can be involved in it. It is simply impossible to intercept such information, according to experts.

It is worth adding that it is likely that a number of Belarusian enterprises participated in the creation of the latest Russian defense systems. It is possible that Belarusians will already take direct part in the next exercises of the Russian military organization in the Baltic. Aviation and air defense of the republic will reliably cover the Baltic Fleet and its bases.

Since the mid-70s, the passenger fleet of the Black Sea Shipping Company has been actively renewed. The ships were also built in Finland, which at that time was a trendsetter in the construction of passenger ferries

Motor ship "Belorussia". blackseanews.net

So, in the Finnish city of Turku on shipyard“Vyartsilya” was built with five similar auto-passenger ferries and motor ships intended for the Black Sea Shipping Company. The lead ship was given the name "Belarus", the second - "Georgia", the third - "Azerbaijan", the fourth - "Kazakhstan", the fifth - "Karelia".

Almost half a century separated these ships from the previous passenger “Krymchaks”; a lot has changed over the past years. Demand for tourist travel across the Black Sea, the navigation area has expanded passenger ships, especially in autumn and winter.

The inclusion of ships of this series into the passenger fleet of the ChMP meant a qualitative leap. This required the introduction of a number of organizational and technical innovations. In the ports of the Crimean-Caucasian line, there was a need to equip special “corner” berths to enable the mooring of vessels of the “Belorussia” type and the opening of ramps. It was also necessary to develop and implement technology for the accumulation and loading of vehicles, containers, etc.
The new ships were noticeably different from their predecessors built in the thirties in terms of the comfort of passenger accommodations and shape: the calm straightness of the hull and superstructures was replaced by the dynamism of the lines.

Sloping superstructures, a mast bent back and a chimney with wings gave the Belorussia a swift and graceful appearance. When designing the vessel, special attention was paid to providing passengers with maximum comfort, creating an atmosphere of comfort and good conditions for relaxation.

"Belorussia" had a deadweight of 3000 tons; length - 157 m; width - 21.8 m; draft - up to 6.2 m. Power of two main 18-cylinder diesel engines - I8000 hp. at a rotation speed of 520 rpm it allowed the speed to reach 2І knots. To reduce pitching, the ship had stabilizer devices. There was a thruster, bow, stern and side ramps.

The ship originally had 173 passenger cabins for 480 people. The car deck could accommodate up to 250 cars. In 1986, the ship was refurbished, passenger capacity increased, and additional cabins were built.

“Belarus”, like a banner, picked up its name from the famous steamship of the Far Eastern Shipping Company. Under the same name, it transported economic and military cargo to the Arctic, and in the most difficult wartime conditions it made its way as part of caravans, overcoming ice and enemy confrontation.

In March 1944, the ship "Belorussia" under the command of captain K.G. Kondratyev was traveling with cargo from the USA to Vladivostok. In the area of ​​Iturup Island ( Kurile Islands) was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine. Miraculously, two crew members survived: stokers I.P. Petrovich and Ya.P. Pochernin. 41 people died.

On January 15, 1975, on the lead ship of the series of auto-passenger ferries - the motor ship "Belorussia" - the state flag THE USSR. At the beginning of February, the crew was completed in Riga, the ship was supplied for upcoming foreign voyages. At the same time, Vladimir Vysotsky made his first visit to the Belorussia, with whom the crew formed a long-lasting friendship.

The ship was received by one of the most experienced captains of the ChMP, Felix Dashkov. Before that, he commanded the motor ship "Lithuania", and proved himself to be excellent while working on the international line Odessa - Marseille. Dashkov transferred the level of service achieved on the Litva to the Belorussia and did a lot to improve comfort, since the new ship was of a higher class.
"Belorussia" began its work on cruises with tourists from the West German company "Turopa" along the route Genoa - Canary Islands. Sailing along this route in the cold season lasted for many years. Since 1977, work on the Marseille line has been equally constant during the summer months. In addition, the ship sailed along the Crimean-Caucasian and Middle Eastern lines and carried out cruises around Europe.

In the 80s, the West German Dolphin Seereisen and the French Transtour Company acted as charterers. The ship began making Arctic cruises with a call at Spitsbergen. "Belorussia" worked stably and without accidents. The annual income from operation amounted to several million foreign currency rubles.

Unforeseen incidents also happened. So, in October-November 1979, the ship carried out cruises to the USA with Soviet tourists. At the Boston-Baltimore crossing, the ship pierced a 12-meter-long whale with its bulbous stem. The main engines were stopped. To free itself from the carcass, it was necessary to call port tugs, which slung the whale and pulled it off the stem.

The Belorussia was repaired first in Yugoslavia, and since 1977, the Odessa shipyard "Ukraine" mastered and successfully carried out dock repairs of ships of this series. In February-May 1986, the ship was modernized in Bremerhaven.

There have been many passengers on Belarus flights famous people, for example, the outstanding Soviet writer Konstantin Simonov. In 1975 and 1977, Vladimir Vysotsky and Marina Vladi made a sea voyage on the ship. The crew tried to do everything to make such dear guests happy. And Vladimir gave sailors and tourists his wonderful songs.

Before the collapse of the USSR, the financial and economic situation in the ChMP was stable, but since 1992 the shipping company began to feel the consequences of non-payments and crisis phenomena, and itself became a debtor. It was during this difficult time that “Belarus” got into a major accident. On October 25, 1992, the Belarusian ship was lifted into the dock at a ship repair yard in Singapore. The motor ship arrived for scheduled repairs and docking under the command of Captain I.N. Mironenko, who headed the ship since 1980. A replacement crew also flew to Singapore.
During the process of docking, when the ship was already standing on the keel blocks, the ship suddenly trembled (as it later turned out, several “cushions” of the keel blocks pushed through the pontoon) and fell first to the left, then began to heel more thoroughly to the starboard side. There was a loud crash. Two cranes collapsed from the dock tower onto a nearby floating dock.
The dock workers fell into the water like peas: the ship capsized along with the dock. Captain Mironenko declared a general ship alarm and organized the evacuation of the crew. A shore crane brought in a “gazebo” and began filming the team, half of which were women.
The neighboring dock was submerged, and the cranes on its towers, until they were torn off, slowed down the list of the Belorussia. The ocean tug moored nearby withdrew in time, otherwise he would have gotten it too.

After the onset of full water, the ship's roll reached 52 degrees, and the ship that had fallen onto the dock received serious damage. Then the position of the vessel along with the dock stabilized. However, there was a significant amount of water in the ship's premises; the cabins of the lower decks where the crew were accommodated were flooded. Fuel oil spilled from the fuel tanks, and things floated in rainbow stains. This was the first case in the history of the Black Sea Marine fleet of a dock and a vessel capsizing.

On November 14, straightening of the vessel began with the help of two powerful floating cranes. After which 19 pumps pumped water out of the flooded premises. The ship was then placed in dry dock for restoration and repair work, which continued until May 1993.
Later it was decided to send the ship to Bremerhaven to complete repairs. This decision can hardly be called appropriate, since the ChMP was already in debt to the Lloyd Werft company, where the repairs were planned, and the production of Belorussia raised this debt to 24 million German marks. Repairs in Singapore would be much cheaper.

As a result, the repair work ended in high-profile financial scandals, criminal cases were opened, Lloyd Werft's claims were added to the claims of creditors of other companies, which further complicated the financial situation of the private enterprise. By the way, the arrest of the motor ship "Odessa" in April 1995 in Naples was carried out on the basis of a claim from Lloyd Werft.

The renovation of Belorussia was completed in December 1993. The ship was renamed Kazakhstan-2 and continued cruising. In July 1995, the ship was detained in the port of Tromso by representatives of the International Transport Workers Union. The reason for the delay was that the crew did not have an agreement with the shipowner and that the crew received wages below the level established by the Union.

In 1996, the Liberian flag was raised on the ship. According to some reports, the motor ship "Belorussia" already under the name "Dolphin" at the beginning of 2012 was still working as part of a small German company. It was commanded by Captain Vladimir Vorobyov, who, by the way, was once a trainee on the Belorussia.

This is the history of the ship, which successfully operated as part of the passenger fleet of the Black Sea Shipping Company.

Vladimir Polyakov, Chairman of the Council of Veterans of the ChMP Fleet, Senior Engineer,
Oleg Bulovich, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Navy Veterans of the ChMP

Ports of Ukraine, No. 7 (119) 2012

If you notice an error, select the required text and press Ctrl+Enter to report it to the editors.

Shipping in Belarus It is carried out only on rivers and lakes, since the country has no access to the sea. The length of the waterways of the Republic of Belarus is about 2.5 thousand kilometers.

However, using these routes for internal transportation is in many cases impractical. This is due to the fact that on the territory of Belarus there are usually only the upper reaches of large rivers (for example, the Dnieper, Western Dvina, Neman, etc..). Firstly, not all of them are navigable (only on the largest waterways the depths reach 1.5 meters). Secondly, they are usually concentrated along the perimeter of the republic (Dnieper - eastern and southeastern, Pripyat - southern, Bug - southwestern, Neman - northwestern, Western Dvina- northeastern part of Belarus).

At the same time, in the central part there are practically no navigable inland waterways.

The waterways of Belarus are not interconnected in any way (with the exception of the Dnieper, Pripyat and Bug).

Small size of the state and a fairly developed network highways, does not contribute to the growth of domestic river transport volumes.

Dnieper-Bug Canal

It is theoretically possible to use all major waterways of the republic (Dnieper, Pripyat, Bug, Western Dvina, Neman) for international river navigation. Currently in Belarus there is only one waterway operated in one direction - the Bug - Pripyat - Dnieper - Black Sea system. At the end of the 1990s, the idea arose of creating a main north-south waterway, including the Vistula, Bug, Pripyat, Dnieper (the so-called route Yes 40), with a possible connection to it (via the city of Yaselda, the Oginsky Canal and the Shchara river) Neman, included by the Economic Commission for Europe in the draft European Agreement on Important Inland Waterways of International Importance.

Design work is underway. Of course, the construction of this main route will require very significant costs. Moreover, the main part of their costs is necessary for the territory where the depths in most sections of the Vistula and Bug barely reach one meter, while according to the requirements for waterways of category Yes, the minimum depth should be no lower than 1.2 meters. The Belarusian section, with the exception of a few sections, meets these requirements. A bypass canal was dug around the dam in the Brest area, which removed obstacles to navigation along the Bug River.

1. River ports and marinas

There are a total of 10 river ports in the country. River ports Gomel, Bobruisk, Mozyr have railway access tracks and are adapted for handling cargo operating in a mixed direction. The port facilities are equipped with floating and gantry cranes, mechanized cargo lines for high-speed ship handling.

I continue the story about river boats, built during the first five-year plans of the USSR. Information on them - for the most part - is taken from the magazine "Technology - Youth".

After the completion of the restoration of the river fleet during the first five-year plan, the period of its reconstruction began. Now the shipbuilders were faced with the task of not only replenishing shipping companies with Soviet-built ships, but boldly introducing advanced technology that would reduce the construction time of ships, reduce the consumption of scarce metal and, consequently, their costs. One of the progressive methods in those years was electric welding.

To be fair, we note that it was invented back in 1881 by the Russian engineer N. Benardos, and six years later it was improved by N. Slavyanov, who created the first welding shop in history at the Perm Steel and Cannon Plant. However, for a number of reasons, electric welding was not widely used until recent years the first world war. It owes its “rebirth” to reasons of a purely military nature - the need to save metal and speed up the production of military equipment in every possible way.

In shipbuilding, one of the initiators of the use of new technology was Professor V. Vologdin. It was he who, back in 1926, successfully carried out the first experiments in welding barges, and then individual components and parts of ships - machine foundations, fuel and ballast tanks, all kinds of casings, davits, cargo booms. Then Vologdin's group developed equipment designed for the manufacture of internal bulkheads. In 1929, employees of the Kyiv Mechanical Engineering Institute completed its tests, and in Sudoproekt, a centralized organization engaged in the design of new ships, a department appeared, whose employees began developing welded ship structures, introducing electric welding in shipyards and training welding workers.

Preparatory stage research work was completed by the beginning of the 30s, and the board of the All-Union River Shipbuilding Association entrusted the construction of the country's first all-welded ship to the Kyiv shipyard (now the Leninskaya Kuznitsa plant).

The Kiev residents chose a tugboat with a steam engine with a capacity of 150 hp, already mastered by industry and well-proven in operation, as the object of experimental construction. With. It was designed by the designers of the Nizhny Novgorod plant "Krasnoe Sormovo" for towing rafts on northern rivers from logging areas to seaports.

Starting such an unusual experiment, Ukrainian shipbuilders deliberately refused to make any changes to the project - outwardly the new tug was no different from its counterparts. The same flat-bottomed, with a hull divided into five compartments by four watertight bulkheads, side paddle wheels, straight sides, with an angular superstructure topped with a long chimney.

Working drawings of "Belarus" - this is the name the tug received - were prepared by August 1, 1931, and two weeks later the first bottom sheets were laid on the slipway. Then the installation of the kit, cladding, and superstructures began. Everything seemed to be the same as before... Only for the first time, the deafening roar of the riveters’ hammers did not stand over the slipway, but the dazzling flame of an electric arc flashed ghostly. For the first time, ready-made bollards, fairleads, portholes and other parts were installed on a ship under construction in the designated places, rather than installing them in parts, as before. The work proceeded unusually quickly, and on November 20 the new tug was solemnly handed over to the owners - the Dnieper rivermen. The work shift of the ship "Belarus" has begun. And at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant, the same type of tugboat “Svarshchik” was built in a similar way. And the shipbuilders began to sum up the results of the experiment. Well, they turned out to be quite good. Suffice it to say that the hull of the Belarus was 27.5% lighter than that of riveted tugs - the savings in metal are obvious. In addition, for the first time, shipbuilders were able to do without a number of rather difficult, time-consuming operations. We are talking about drilling holes in the skin and hull sheets, the riveting itself, and embossing; Finally, there was no longer any need to make thousands of different-sized bolts and nuts - the labor intensity of the work decreased by 30%. The advantages of electric welding turned out to be clear.The new method of assembling ships was immediately extended to other enterprises in the industry, and the Kiev plant "Leninskaya Kuznitsa" began an extensive program of design and construction of a large series of all-welded tugs with 150 and 300 hp machines. With. Following the Ukrainians, electric welding was quickly introduced at many shipbuilding and repair enterprises in the Volga basin.

In 1975, at the Wartsila shipyard in the Finnish city of Turku, the transfer of a new vehicle-passenger motor ship "Belorussia" to the customer - Sovcomflot of the USSR - took place. This ship was the lead in a series of five ships. Initially, all five ships were transferred to the Black Sea Shipping Company of the USSR Ministry of Marine and Fleet.

The order was given to the Finnish shipyard for a reason - the Wartsila company was already known in the USSR, and Finnish shipbuilders had a lot of experience in building ferries. Despite all the external similarities with the large car-passenger ferries that plied in the Baltic basin, the new ships cannot be called ferries in the usual sense. The ships had only one car deck and were still intended to transport primarily passengers, and then cars between ports Black Sea coast THE USSR.

m/v "Belorussia" leaves the port of Valletta, 1975

"Belorussia" leaves Southampton, 1987

Red stripe on the false pipe with the Soviet coat of arms, home port of Odessa - this is what "Belorussia" was like in the second half of the 80s. Pictured - June 1988, Fremantle

m/v "Belorussia" 1992. being towed through the English Channel under the tow of SMIT ROTTERDAM

In 1993, after repairs in a dry dock in Singapore, the ship was renamed Kazakhstan II, and then, in 1996, DELPHIN

Already under the name Kazastan II, Durban, 1994.

This is how she is these days - DELPHIN:

on the approach to Kiel harbor (Kiel, Germany)

At the same time, in 1975, the motor ship "Georgia" was put into operation. He was also transferred to the ChMP.

"Georgia" in Southampton, 1976

in Sochi, 1983

Southampton, November 1983

Istanbul, 1991

still "Georgia", 1992, Quebec, Canada. The ship was chartered for cruises on the St. Lawrence River.

the coat of arms of the USSR was changed to a Ukrainian trident, the name was changed to Odessa Sky, St. Lawrence River, Canada, August 1995

In 1999, the ship sailed under the name Club I. The photo was taken in the North Sea

Soon the ship was renamed again - Club Cruise I. Presumably, this renaming occurred in the same 1999 - the ship changed owners. Then, in 1999, the ship was renamed again - Van Gogh - after the famous Dutch painter. The ship sailed under this name until 2009. In 2009 it was renamed again - SALAMIS FILOXENIA. The ship still operates under this name.

Port Caen, 2004

off the coast of Norway, 2007

Kiel Canal, 2008

Port of Split, Croatia, 2008

SALAMIS FILOXENIA at anchor off the island of Patmos, July 2010

If we conditionally divide ships into series according to the year of construction, then the motor ship "Azerbaijan" is the last motor ship of the first series - like "Belarus" and "Georgia" it was built in 1975 and became the third ship of the "Belarus" type. In 1996, the ship received a new name - Arcadia (when you look for its pictures on various sites - at least one more ship is referred to as Ardkadia, which has nothing to do with our fleet - New Australia and also Monarch of Bermuda). In 1997, the ship was renamed Island Holyday, and the ship operated under this name until 1998. From 1998 to the present - ENCHANTED CAPRI.

The photo was taken before the collapse of the USSR, but it is not yet possible to determine the exact year

Fremantle port, first half of the 90s

Southampton 1992

"Azerbaijan" in Genoa, late 70s. By the way, there is a photo of the motor ship "Ivan Franko" taken at the same pier. Just from a slightly different angle.

1998, the name is Island Holiday

photo from 1996-1997

In 1976, two more vessels of the series were delivered to the USSR Ministry of Marine and Fleet - Kazakhstan and Karelia.

The motor ship "Kazakhstan" was renamed in 1996 - ROYAL SEAS, and in 1997 - "Ukraine". It was for this reason that “Belarus” was called “Kazakhstan II”. In 1998, the ship changed ownership, flag and name - ISLAND ADVENTURE. The ship still operates under this name today. Although in what capacity is difficult to say. It is known that in 2007 it operated in Miami Beach as a floating casino.

"Kazakhstan" in Greece, Mykonos, May 1983

"Ukraine" leaves Fort Lauderdale, 1998

ISLAND ADVENTURE, photo 1998, location - Fort Lauderdale

Miami Beach, 2007

The last ship in the series was the Karelia. She is currently based in Hong Kong.

"Karelia" was put into operation in 1976, in 1982 the first renaming - the ship received the name of the recently deceased General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L. I. Brezhnev. In 1989, when perestroika was in full swing in the country, the ship was renamed again - its original name was returned. In 1998, the ship passed under the Liberian flag and changed its name to OLVIA, then a series of resales and renamings followed - 2004 - NEPTUNE, 2005 - CT NEPTUNE, 2006 - NEPTUNE.

December 1983

"Leonid Brezhnev" in the Kiel Canal, 1985

"Leonid Brezhnev" in the port of Tilbury, 1987

Port of Tilbury, 1989

"Karelia" in the first half of the 90s

OLVIA in 2004, the mouth of the Elbe River

Neptun in 2007, Hong Kong

Hong Kong, March 2010

________________________________________ ___________________

Photos of ships - www.shipspotting.com, www.faktaomfartyg.se

Information on renaming - www.faktaomfartyg.se