UNIT 1. Deadly Maritime Disasters

Text 1. The Admiral Nakhimov

I. Read the text.

Make sure you understand the words below:

to acquire	to obtain
to retire to	to go away
breach	opening, hole
in reverse	in a backward direction
to perish	to die

The last day of August will always remain the day of an awful tragedy for the Russian passenger fleet forever.

At 10:00 p.m. on August 31, 1986, the Admiral Nakhimov sailed from Novorossiysk accompanied with sounds of music and shining with bright lightsen route to Sochi, its next stop. In about an hour the motor ship was wrecked. There were 888 passengers and 346 crew members aboard. Most of the passengers were Ukrainian, with others from Moldavia, the Baltic republics and Central Asia. The captain of the ship was Vadim Markov.

M/V Admiral Nakhimov, built in 1925 (Germany)

Flag state: USSR

Port of registry: Odessa

Ship owner: Black Sea Shipping Company

Length: 174 m

Beam: 21 m

Draught: 9 m

II. Now you are going to work in groups of three. Each student has to read one text. Exchange the information.

Text 2 (A). Navigational aspects of the disaster

Just minutes into the voyage, the ship's pilot noticed that the large bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev was on a collision course with the Admiral Nakhimov. The Pyotr Vasev was a Japanese-built, 18,604-ton freighter recently acquired by the Soviet Union, and was carrying a cargo of oats and barley. According to the navigation regulations, the Admiral Nakhimov motor ship was to allow the bulk carrier pass. The pilot radioed a warning to the Pyotr Vasev, and the bulk carrier's captain Tkachenko reported that his vessel would let the motor ship pass. There was enough place and time for the vessels to manoeuvre. At 11:05 p.m. Admiral Nakhimov once again asked the bulk carrier to let her pass. Captain Tkachenko once again confirmed his manouevre. Captain Markov of the Admiral Nakhimov retired to his cabin, leaving his second mate in charge. The pilot of the Admiral Nakhimov continued to warn the freighter, and the dispatcher at Novorossiysk radioed repeated warnings to both ships. When it was clear that the freighter was heading directly for the ship, the Pyotr Vasev's engines were thrown in reverse. The Admiral Nakhimov turned hard to port[51], but it was too late.

M/VPyotr Vasev, built in 1981 (Japan)

Flag state: USSR

Port of registry: Odessa

Ship owner: Black Sea Shipping Company

Length: 183 m

Beam: 26 m

Loaded draught: 10 m

Vocabulary

oats	овес
barley	ячмень
dispatcher	диспетчер

Text 2 (B). Damage to the ship

The Admiral Nakhimov was struck by the Pyotr Vasev eight miles from the port at Novorossiysk and two miles from shore line. While many passengers had gone to bed by this time, some were on deck listening and dancing to a jazz band. They could only watch helplessly as the freighter rammedinto the starboard side of the ship at a speed of about 5 knots (9.269 km/h). The Admiral Nakhimov continued forward with the freighter's bow in its side, ripping
a 900 square foot (84 m²) hole in the hull between the engine and boiler rooms.

The Admiral Nakhimov immediately took on a list on her starboard side, and her lights went out upon impact. After a few seconds, the emergency diesel generator powered on, but the lights went out again two minutes later. People below decks found themselves lost in the dark and rapidly canting hallways.

There was no time to launch the lifeboats. Hundreds of people dived into the oily water, clinging to lifejackets, barrels and pieces of debris.

Vocabulary

to rip	распарывать
boiler room	котельное отделение
impact	удар; столкновение
to cant	наклоняться; накрениться
hallway	проход
to cling	цепляться

Text 2 (C). Rescue operation and the death toll

The Admiral Nakhimov sank in only eight minutes. Rescue ships began arriving just 10 minutes after the ship had gone down. The Pyotr Vasev was not badly damaged, and assisted in the rescue effort. Sixty-four rescue ships and
20 helicopters rushed to the scene, and 836 people were pulled from the water. Some people were so slick with fuel oil that they could not keep hold of the hands of their rescuers. Sailors had to jump into the water to save people.

Passengers and crew had little time to escape, and 423 of the 1,234 on board perished. Sixty-four of those killed were crew members and 359 were passengers.

Vocabulary

slick

скользкий