Raising sunken Bulgaria ship: background
The Bulgaria cruise ship sinking on the Volga River on July 10, 2011 became the largest accident on inland waterways in the history of modern Russia. The disaster took the lives of 122 people, most of them women and children. Experts of the 40th State Scientific and Technical Institute of the Ministry of Defense, which elaborated the plan of raising the sunken vessel, told the PortNews correspondent about the emergency operation that was carried out to raise the sunken diesel-electric ship.
The Transport Ministry and the Institute team was in a rush to raise the Bulgaria ship to bring to the surface as soon as possible the dead bodies that were not found by divers in sunken compartments during the rescue operation. It was also necessary to carry out a survey of the vessel to help determine the causes of the disaster. Besides, the ship’s wreck should be removed for the environmental reasons and to ensure safe navigation in the area.
According to the Code of Inland Water Transport of the Russian Federation the sunken Bulgaria was to be raised by the ship owner - Kama River Shipping Company. However, due to lack of resources the company was not able to handle the raising operation on a tight timetable. The regional Volga Basin department of inland water transport was not able to cope with the complicated task either.
The Transport Ministry and the Institute team was in a rush to raise the Bulgaria ship to bring to the surface as soon as possible the dead bodies that were not found by divers in sunken compartments during the rescue operation. It was also necessary to carry out a survey of the vessel to help determine the causes of the disaster. Besides, the ship’s wreck should be removed for the environmental reasons and to ensure safe navigation in the area.
According to the Code of Inland Water Transport of the Russian Federation the sunken Bulgaria was to be raised by the ship owner - Kama River Shipping Company. However, due to lack of resources the company was not able to handle the raising operation on a tight timetable. The regional Volga Basin department of inland water transport was not able to cope with the complicated task either.
This was an emergency operation. So, Podvodrechstroy of the Russian Ministry of Transport was awarded the contract for raising the sunken ship from the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Affairs of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief (EMERCOM, Emergencies Ministry). The contractor teamed up with the units of Russian Marine Emergency Salvage and Rescue Service (Gosmorspassluzhba), of Volga SBD, and the Russian Ministry of Defense Ministry (MoD) and the Russian Emergencies Ministry that were also actively participating in the operation.
Overall, the Russian Government ordered about RUB150 million through the Russian Emergencies Ministry for funding the ship salvage.
HQ handles salvage operation
To manage the raising of the sunken ship the Russian government on July 12, 2011, formed the operational headquarters led by Deputy Transport Minister Viktor Olersky. The HQ teamed up EMERCOM Deputy Minister Col. Gen. Alexander Chupriyan, the head of MoD’s 40th Research Institute Capt. Andrei Zvyagintsev, Director of FBD Podvodrechstroy Adrian Altukhov and his deputy Nikolai Dorofeev who was appointed technical director of the operations, representatives of other organizations. The HQ had a team of engineers, including experts of MoD’s Institute, EMERCOM, and Russian Salvage and Rescue Service (Gosmorspassluzhba).
Viktor Olersky, who managed the salvage operation, was ensuring the interaction of different agencies and ministries involved in the operation.
Minister of Transport Igor Levitin was in charge of the works general management. During the most critical moment on July 22, 2011, he held an immediate meeting of the operational headquarters and solved the problems related to the transportation of the MV Bulgaria, brought to the surface by two cranes for placing her to the floating dock.
The HQ had to establish on July 13, 2011 an ad hoc committee, consisted of three ministries, which would be authorized to implement the salvage operation, since, according to the Russian law, no agency is authorized to carry out independently such emergency salvage operations.
To manage the raising of the sunken ship the Russian government on July 12, 2011, formed the operational headquarters led by Deputy Transport Minister Viktor Olersky. The HQ teamed up EMERCOM Deputy Minister Col. Gen. Alexander Chupriyan, the head of MoD’s 40th Research Institute Capt. Andrei Zvyagintsev, Director of FBD Podvodrechstroy Adrian Altukhov and his deputy Nikolai Dorofeev who was appointed technical director of the operations, representatives of other organizations. The HQ had a team of engineers, including experts of MoD’s Institute, EMERCOM, and Russian Salvage and Rescue Service (Gosmorspassluzhba).
Viktor Olersky, who managed the salvage operation, was ensuring the interaction of different agencies and ministries involved in the operation.
Minister of Transport Igor Levitin was in charge of the works general management. During the most critical moment on July 22, 2011, he held an immediate meeting of the operational headquarters and solved the problems related to the transportation of the MV Bulgaria, brought to the surface by two cranes for placing her to the floating dock.
The HQ had to establish on July 13, 2011 an ad hoc committee, consisted of three ministries, which would be authorized to implement the salvage operation, since, according to the Russian law, no agency is authorized to carry out independently such emergency salvage operations.
Emergency plan
The technical plan of raising the vessel ordered by the operational headquarters was elaborated by a team of engineers (Andrei Kramorenko, Mikhail Kramorenko and Anton Ageev) of the Defense Ministry’s 40th State Research Institute led by its head Andrei Zvyagintsev within a day. The document contained detailed phases, technical means and risk assessment of the salvage operation.
According to the plan, the sunken ship should be hoisted by two 350-ton floating cranes ordered by the Ministry of Transport: "Moguchy" and and KPL-351. The first crane is owned by Volgograd branch of Podvodrechstroy, the second - by Moscow Canal. The heavy-lift equipment was promptly delivered to the scene by July 16.
The Ministry of Transport’s Podvodrechstroy dispatched a team of 17 divers led by best professionals Anatoly Vidilin and Igor Shchebaturin. The divers had a lot to do on the preparation phase due to the sunken vessel’s design and her position on the ground. Volgograd branch of Podvodrechstroy Oleg Klyuyev was responsible for logistics and supply operations. Two top executives of Podvodrechstroy were tasked to coordinate the company’s operations in Moscow and on the ground (Alexander Belovodov, Dennis Vidilin). In addition the Ministry of Transport backed the experts team sending a crew of experienced riggers from Baltic and Novorossiysk regional emergency response organizations.
Transport Minister Igor Levitin authorized his deputy Victor Olersky to involve all the necessary crafts to beef up the fleet of handling equipment. In particular, the headquarters deployed seven additional 2000hp push tugs (stationed in the area of the Volga), to haul the raised vessel in shallow water, two gravel-laden Articulated Tub/Barge (ATB) barges, consisting of four pairs of barges, each of a length of 200 meters. The ATBs cordoned off the operation area to avoid roughness and wave height.
A crew of divers of MoD’s 40th Research Institute and EMERCOM’s led by Nikolai Koloskov greatly assisted with Podvodrechstroy, some of them helping riggers working with hoisting slings.
10 days to raise the ship
The salvage operation was implemented from 16 to 26 July 2011. The work was comprised of five phases. Initially, during four days the ship lying on the river bed was aligned with the use of two floating cranes. The phase ended when during 40 hours the two cranes brought the vessel’s upper deck to the surface.
At the third phase the vessel was carried in shallow waters, placed on the river bottom and its hull sealed.
After this, the water was pumped out from compartments and only then the ship was put into a floating dock.
A source in the MoD’s 40th Institute told PortNews that the competent management of Deputy Transport Minister, who perfectly coped with the task ensuring the interaction of scores of organizations and agencies engaged in the salvage, contributed to successful outcome of the operation.
The important role of experts of the Ministry of Defense 40th Research Institute who elaborated the salvage plan was noted by the operation participants.
The work was completed on July 26, 2011 when the MV Bulgaria was placed into a floating dock of PD-955 shipyard in the town of Kuibyshev Zaton.
The vessel was transferred to the Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation for examination.
Invaluable experience
The two-week intensive salvage operation, raising the sunken Bulgaria, is a milestone in the history of emergency response and rescuers teams of Transport Ministry, Emergencies Ministry and Russian Defense Ministry. Their work was highly appreciated by the Russian Ministry of Transport and Russian EMERCOM.
As a result, all of the operation participants have acquired valuable experience. The Bulgaria salvage has also revealed the legislation gap, the lack of legal regulation that would facilitate interaction of different agencies, authorities, public and private entities in case of emergency situations and salvage operations in inland waters and the territorial seas of the Russian Federation. Obviously, the development and approval of such documents is essential, as well as urgent need of in-depth reform of the entire system for emergency response and rescue operations on inland and sea waters of the Russian Federation. This requires a powerful federal well-equipped organization with perfectly trained personnel, which would unite the forces and resources of all departmental emergency services.
The technical plan of raising the vessel ordered by the operational headquarters was elaborated by a team of engineers (Andrei Kramorenko, Mikhail Kramorenko and Anton Ageev) of the Defense Ministry’s 40th State Research Institute led by its head Andrei Zvyagintsev within a day. The document contained detailed phases, technical means and risk assessment of the salvage operation.
According to the plan, the sunken ship should be hoisted by two 350-ton floating cranes ordered by the Ministry of Transport: "Moguchy" and and KPL-351. The first crane is owned by Volgograd branch of Podvodrechstroy, the second - by Moscow Canal. The heavy-lift equipment was promptly delivered to the scene by July 16.
The Ministry of Transport’s Podvodrechstroy dispatched a team of 17 divers led by best professionals Anatoly Vidilin and Igor Shchebaturin. The divers had a lot to do on the preparation phase due to the sunken vessel’s design and her position on the ground. Volgograd branch of Podvodrechstroy Oleg Klyuyev was responsible for logistics and supply operations. Two top executives of Podvodrechstroy were tasked to coordinate the company’s operations in Moscow and on the ground (Alexander Belovodov, Dennis Vidilin). In addition the Ministry of Transport backed the experts team sending a crew of experienced riggers from Baltic and Novorossiysk regional emergency response organizations.
Transport Minister Igor Levitin authorized his deputy Victor Olersky to involve all the necessary crafts to beef up the fleet of handling equipment. In particular, the headquarters deployed seven additional 2000hp push tugs (stationed in the area of the Volga), to haul the raised vessel in shallow water, two gravel-laden Articulated Tub/Barge (ATB) barges, consisting of four pairs of barges, each of a length of 200 meters. The ATBs cordoned off the operation area to avoid roughness and wave height.
A crew of divers of MoD’s 40th Research Institute and EMERCOM’s led by Nikolai Koloskov greatly assisted with Podvodrechstroy, some of them helping riggers working with hoisting slings.
10 days to raise the ship
The salvage operation was implemented from 16 to 26 July 2011. The work was comprised of five phases. Initially, during four days the ship lying on the river bed was aligned with the use of two floating cranes. The phase ended when during 40 hours the two cranes brought the vessel’s upper deck to the surface.
At the third phase the vessel was carried in shallow waters, placed on the river bottom and its hull sealed.
After this, the water was pumped out from compartments and only then the ship was put into a floating dock.
A source in the MoD’s 40th Institute told PortNews that the competent management of Deputy Transport Minister, who perfectly coped with the task ensuring the interaction of scores of organizations and agencies engaged in the salvage, contributed to successful outcome of the operation.
The important role of experts of the Ministry of Defense 40th Research Institute who elaborated the salvage plan was noted by the operation participants.
The work was completed on July 26, 2011 when the MV Bulgaria was placed into a floating dock of PD-955 shipyard in the town of Kuibyshev Zaton.
The vessel was transferred to the Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation for examination.
Invaluable experience
The two-week intensive salvage operation, raising the sunken Bulgaria, is a milestone in the history of emergency response and rescuers teams of Transport Ministry, Emergencies Ministry and Russian Defense Ministry. Their work was highly appreciated by the Russian Ministry of Transport and Russian EMERCOM.
As a result, all of the operation participants have acquired valuable experience. The Bulgaria salvage has also revealed the legislation gap, the lack of legal regulation that would facilitate interaction of different agencies, authorities, public and private entities in case of emergency situations and salvage operations in inland waters and the territorial seas of the Russian Federation. Obviously, the development and approval of such documents is essential, as well as urgent need of in-depth reform of the entire system for emergency response and rescue operations on inland and sea waters of the Russian Federation. This requires a powerful federal well-equipped organization with perfectly trained personnel, which would unite the forces and resources of all departmental emergency services.
Nadezhda Malysheva