"River Fleet of the First Five-Year Plans." Tugboats "Belarus" and "Svarshchik". The history of Smolensk shipping goes back many centuries. Pirates do not sail with the Jolly Roger flag, but disguise themselves as fishermen.
July 3 — Belarus also celebrates River Fleet Day. Until recently, Sozh was not only a place of rest, but also a breadwinner and the main transport route. Interesting archival documents have been preserved about the river history of the city...
Manufactory on river sand
Navigation along the Sozh has been known since ancient times. As a matter of fact, it is to him that Gomel owes its emergence. A convenient place for a berth on the way from the “Varangians to the Greeks” clearly contributed to the flourishing of medieval Gomel.
It was on Sozh that the first steamship in Belarus, Nikolai, built by Count Nikolai Rumyantsev, appeared. In the 19th century, due to the development of industry in the south, timber rafting along the Sozh and Dnieper became one of the most important sources of income for local merchants. IN late XIX- At the beginning of the 20th century, regular steamship service opened from Gomel to Kyiv, Vetka and Propoisk. The width of the Sozh near Gomel in 1913, for example, reached 100 fathoms, during the flood in some places - up to 10 versts. “As a beautiful navigable river, which was of particular concern to the shipping department, the Sozh significantly contributed to the ongoing development of Gomel as a large trading center,” write the authors of the reference book “All Gomel” for 1913.
The Civil War caused severe damage to transport, including water transport. Some of the ships were mobilized into the Dnieper military flotilla, one of them sank in Gomel right near the bridge. In June 1921, the Galak gang captured Radul and the mooring here in a surprise raid. passenger ship, which went from Kyiv to Gomel. 40 Red Army soldiers and Cheka employees were disarmed. The “Russian” passengers were released, but more than 70 Jews were stripped, robbed and drowned in the Dnieper.
Upon completion civil war water transport began to restore. There was no equipped port in pre-revolutionary Gomel. Manufacture, grain and hemp were transshipped by hand on wooden piers. Until recently, lead seals of various trading houses could be found on the river sand near the park.
The onset of industrialization and modernization of agriculture required different approaches. In 1930, the Council of People's Commissars of Belarus decided to build a modern river port in Gomel. At the same time, construction of an elevator began on its territory.
On the Sozh coast of the Caucasus
The location for the Gomel port was chosen between the Gypsy descent and the Dedno ravine.
The future port, as expected, was adjacent to picturesque and criminally notorious slums called “Caucasus”. Subsequently, a story about the construction of the port was even published in Gomel - under the epic title “The Conquest of the Caucasus”...
This place was not chosen by chance—in the nearby backwater, river vessels had been wintering for a long time. There was also a protective dam - “Strelka”. But the new plans were grandiose - it was supposed to equip timber and oil harbors with mechanical loading facilities, an oil loading base, warehouses, work premises, two kilometers of “sheet piling” and concrete embankment, and build a highway and railway. And also - a 4-story brick house for water workers, a wooden dormitory for ship crews and the same house for port loaders. Apparently, the last of these wooden barracks on Volotovskaya Street was demolished quite recently.
But the most important thing is that the project was so ambitious that it even included the construction of a lock system on Sozh! The state archive of the Gomel region contains documents signed by the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR Nikolai Goloded. The head of the Belarusian government was originally from Novozybkovsky district, and previously worked for a long time in the Gomel province. The decision he signed provided for the construction of locks and corresponding piers on the river section between Krichev and Propoisk. Why this project, designed to facilitate navigation in the upper reaches of the Sozh, was postponed is anyone’s guess...
Clear water under the keel
Strange as it may seem, at that turbulent time of industrialization, the designers of the Gomel port showed considerable concern for the environment. A corresponding commission was formed, which included the head of the work of the Gomel “Portstroy” N.I. Malyarenko, engineer I.M. Pushkin, city sanitary doctor Livshits. In their opinion, in “Port” (that’s how they wrote the word - with capital letters) should only hit clean water— storm water, melt water, or specially purified water. There was even a demand to close the starch and syrup plant, which dumped waste into Lake Dedno (the vicinity of the modern 17th microdistrict). Waste water from the city bathhouse-laundry under construction was allowed to be discharged into Dedno only after purification in “grease traps” and settling tanks. Also, all toilets in the vicinity were to be moved away from the Port.
To clean the port waters, a separate canal was also dug to the old riverbed (“old man”) of the Sozh.
At the same time, the head of the Dnieper-Dvina river transport department, Pochebut, authorized for the construction of the Sozh port, raised the question of creating the Gomel ship repair workshops - the future large shipbuilding plant - before the People's Commissariat of Water Transport. An area was allocated for the workshops “on the South Pier at the Spit.”
One of the first ships to arrive here for repairs at the end of 1933 was the boat “Jefferi,” which belonged to the Gomel City Council. In total, there were 42 units of equipment on the “Gomel roadstead” at that time. 8 of them belonged to the Dnieper-Dvinsk river transport, the rest were leased or belonged to various organizations - from the “Management of Entertainment and Cultural Park” to the crushed stone artel and the Volya correctional colony. The Gomel rivermen had at their disposal the Kleptan and Benz motorboats, the Locomobile, Case, and Auston motorboats, and the Ragal motorboat. The Kleptan motorboat served as a tugboat and had a 60 horsepower engine, the Benz had an 81 horsepower engine. The Packard motor-dub carried passengers for the Lunacharsky park.
What is a “motorized” oak? No, it was not at all a floating cramp from the surrounding forests, equipped with an imported motor. Oak is a type of wooden vessel known on the Black Sea and in the lower reaches of the Dnieper. But it could also be related to the Gomel oak forests - part of its frame was traditionally made of oak wood. Plus, the young “builders of the future” figured out to equip the oak with an internal combustion engine - and the result was a good vessel of the “river-sea” class. The gas oil supplied from Samara burned in the engine of the motorcycle engine. But four oak trees in Gomel in 1933 still remained rowing.
In addition to motorboats, sailing boats glided along the surface of the Sozh at that time and gilyars walked. The Laib's displacement was up to 45 tons. Around one of them, as evidenced by documents, a scandal erupted due to its “speculatory and greedy use.”
Gomel "Titanic"
But, of course, at that time such deviations were rather the exception to the rule. All river vessels worked in the interests of the country. Thus, in 1933, Belarusian water workers were tasked with transporting 60 thousand tons of potatoes and 30 thousand tons of grain along Sozh, Besedi and Berezina. The same motorboats could tow flat-bottomed wooden barges and Berlins, assembled using old-fashioned technology - without a single nail. And fulfill the five-year plan for them.
But not everything went smoothly - water surface so deceptive... During the navigation of 1933, the non-steam vessel "Nikolaev" was wrecked in the Chenok area. Its displacement is impressive - 800 tons! A real Dnieper-Dvina Titanic. After all, the carrying capacity of the entire Gomel fleet at that time was 456 tons. Obviously this one was huge wooden barque. Operating river workers say that it is not difficult to run aground in the Chenok area even today; the river here makes a sharp bend. Once on land, the wooden ship, like a giant whale, slowly began to agonize. Its body, most likely assembled using wooden dowel bolts, began to dry out, deform and burst. The rivermen turned to the Gomel Council with a request to allocate peasants from Sevruki and Bobovichi to save the ship - manually. It took at least 150 rescuers to pull the wooden Titanic into the water.
In October 1933, a special “launch” commission was created to accept the Gomel port. With its entry into operation, there were two “city-forming” industries in Gomel - railway and water transport. The port workshops soon grew into a large shipbuilding plant. In the center of the city, residential buildings for watermen were built, a rivermen's club, a riverine school and technical school, and a station for young sailors were opened. The management of the Dnieper-Dvina River Shipping Company was based in Gomel. The Gomel port has become one of the largest, if not the largest, in Belarus.
Sources:
1. "All Gomel", Gomel, 1913
2. State Archives of the Gomel Region, F. 296, Op.1, D. 210, 334
When in high school Sasha Borisov announced that he wanted to join the naval school, there was a scandal at home. Almost like in Korzh’s song. Dad said firmly: "Only over my corpse." Mom tried to set ultimatums and dissuaded her son as best she could. The boy's parents predicted a promising career as an oil or gas worker. But he insisted on his own.
Sasha’s parents met in Nakhodka. Both had distribution. A graduate of a construction college from the village of Grushevo near Kobrin was sent to build new city. A river school cadet from the Komi Republic was also assigned there. There they met, fell in love and got married. The nineties in Nakhodka were so difficult that Sasha’s parents took their two children, packed their bags and moved 10.3 thousand kilometers to Brest.
- It was 1994, I was four, and I only remember the guy on the plane who gave me a can of juice,- recalls Sasha. - Since then I still have a Russian passport, but I feel 100% Belarusian.
The guy’s father continued to go to sea from Brest. The times were very difficult and dangerous. At customs, sailors with their salaries were met by racketeers - guys in black jackets who extorted information from companies about arrival times, flights and salary amounts. Sometimes the sailors were robbed and beaten, some managed to slip through.
- Can you imagine, after everything they went through, I declare that I will go to the naval academy. It brought me to tears. Dad said: "Only over my corpse"- Sasha remembers those family passions with a smile.
- Mom cried and gave ultimatums. My parents all wooed me to Moscow, to the Gubkin Oil and Gas University. When it came to 11th grade, dad eventually agreed. The older sister talked to her mother. I remember telling her: “Mom, don’t dissuade Sasha, so that he doesn’t blame you later if something doesn’t work out for him.”
Sasha says that sailing was not such a rosy dream for him. He thought through everything and realized that, despite all the disadvantages, the profession is financially beneficial: he won’t have to save up for an apartment all his life.
“During the first practice, we crawled along the deck due to the large list and seasickness”
So Alexander went to St. Petersburg to “Makarovka” (Makarov State University of Sea and River Fleet). This university is still considered one of the most prestigious. Sailors, like doctors, study for six years, one and a half of which is practice on a ship at sea.
- My most memorable practice was on a sailboat. Yes, yes, on the real one, where it was necessary to set the sails,- Alexander recalls. - The ship itself was 100 meters long, and the masts were 49 meters long. We had to climb on them and manually lower the sails. And they are heavy, they are canvas - the fabric is several times denser than jeans. There were also wild rolls of up to 40 degrees. And we all suffered seasickness. It was impossible to walk, we were practically crawling on the deck,- the guy recalls. - We left Kaliningrad and sailed for six months on a sailboat past Europe, passed Gibraltar and so on. Since the ship belonged to the academy, and it had no money, there was no way to make a call on it. In six months, I was only able to send SMS to my parents and girlfriend twice.
During the first practices, Sasha, like all trainees, cleaned, scrubbed, washed, painted - the “yellow mouths” were not trusted with anything else. Later there were practices in conditions close to real ones. Sasha went on a gas carrier and even on an oil tanker - on the very first tanker that carried oil from Venezuela to Belarus.
- At sea, both then and now, there is a large personnel shortage. In addition, Makarovka is the best maritime university in Russia. Therefore, graduates find work without any problems, get jobs in the most best places and receive the highest salaries, and, of course, bear no less high responsibility,- adds Sasha.
He graduated with honors and unexpectedly ended up working for the Greek company Dynagas, which owns ships transporting liquefied gas and oil from Russia to various parts of the world.
So in 2014, he became the third mate on one of the company’s gas carriers. This is the most junior officer rank (after second, first and senior mates). On his first voyage, the guy had an extreme experience: he lost 10 kilograms and mastered conversational and business English in a couple of months. Then I got into a groove, and it became easier.
“The company chooses the flag of the country that best suits it”
The crew on Dynagas ships is usually small (up to 50 people). Mostly these are all men. There are women at sea, they even become captains, but this is still rare. The saying “A woman on a ship means trouble” is still in use today. Therefore, for now the sea is the prerogative of men.
The crews of the company's vessels are international. As a rule, the sailors, mechanics and stewards are Filipinos. They are not paid much, by naval standards, and their shift lasts about nine months. Often they don't even know English very well. But for them this knowledge is not entirely necessary; the main thing is that the boatswain, in fact their “foreman,” speaks English. Among the officers there may be Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Croats, Indians, Pakistanis, a few Spaniards, British and even one Greek.
- This is such a Greek company,- Sasha laughs. - And we fly under the flag of the Marshall Islands. In maritime transport there is the concept of “flag of convenience”. The vessel must belong to a certain country. The country is chosen by the company itself. And the choice depends on port fees, taxes and so on. It is clear that they prefer options with lower rates. Therefore, the flags of Liberia, Panama, Marshall Islands, Belize, Bermuda and so on are very often used on cargo ships.
Alexander's work is not as romantic as it might seem. Mostly paper. A sea vessel is a separate legal entity. It is subject to various conventions, of which there are more than a dozen: on the training of seafarers, on safety precautions, on the environment, and so on. Each convention requires certificates (about 120-150 pieces). Plus certificates for equipment, fire extinguishers, boats. Keeping track of all certificates, their expiration dates, and helping to pass checks at each port - these are the tasks of the third assistant.
- And the assistant captain himself should have several dozen certificates and certificates for completing various courses,- Sasha shows a heavy folder with documents. This folder is one of the most valuable things: there are dozens of different crusts, without which a Belarusian cannot work.
“There is a lot of traffic at sea in Europe, you have to wait until nightfall to dock”
Sasha's morning starts at 3:40. He wakes up, drinks tea and gets ready for work. From four to eight in the morning he is on watch navigation bridge. During these four hours, it is Sasha who controls the ship. No, he doesn’t turn the helm, like in the movies, but he monitors a special “autopilot” and, if necessary, corrects it in the direction specified by the captain. In addition, he carefully analyzes the situation at sea. Here, by the way, right-hand traffic has rules that are a little reminiscent of traffic rules.
- In the ocean or on Far East It’s simpler: there is almost no traffic there, it’s good if you meet at least one ship during your shift. But in the Mediterranean Sea, near Europe it is very difficult: there is a lot of traffic,- the man shares. - In the narrow passages and straits there are international corridors on the approaches and the rules of movement have been adopted. They indicate right on the map: this lane goes there, this lane goes there. It happens that at ports you have to wait for your turn to dock even until nightfall.
It is strictly forbidden to sleep while on watch; for this, you will be jailed at the first port and sent home. Sasha escapes from sleep with strong tea and exercise: he will sit down, do push-ups, and lately he’s even started using a manual expander. As soon as I want to sleep, I begin to squeeze and unclench it.
- The main thing is to wait until dawn. It’s already easier for the body there,- explains the sailor. After the shift at 8:00 he begins “overtime” - time for paperwork. The assistant is given two hours to do this, but no one fits in. Therefore, Sasha spends all four hours on paperwork, checks and other matters. At 12:00 he has lunch and until 16:00 he has free time again.
Sasha inside the ship's tank in which liquefied gas is transported
- I try to keep myself busy and not go to bed, because from 16:00 to 20:00 I have another running watch. I'll endure it and I'll sleep well later. If you go to bed late, you may not wake up at 3:40,- Sasha explains.
And so on day after day, while the ship is at sea.
Pirates don't sail with the Jolly Roger flag, but disguise themselves as fishermen
On land the situation is changing. Nobody cancels the watch, but a lot of other work is added: mooring (which takes two hours), going through all the checks, maintenance services and other things. Everyone is trying to patch things up in the port: failure of equipment at sea is a real emergency and huge losses for ship owners and charterers.
- In the port, just as everything starts at three in the morning, it can last until eight in the evening,- Sasha explains. And when we ask how many countries he has visited, he just waves his hand. What I managed to see on the bridge is what I saw. I never really had the chance to walk in the port taverns and around the city.
- The fact is that oil and gas terminals are usually located far away from the city and port: the risk is too great. Imagine 100 thousand tons of liquefied gas - God forbid,- the man adds. - So it takes an hour and a half to get to the nearest cafe. So we can go occasionally (in all three years this happened only a couple of times), the company orders a bus for us. As a rule, we go to shopping mall It takes two to three hours to buy souvenirs and drink coffee, that’s all. So you won’t see much of a country.
Sasha did not encounter pirates. Although in the Suez Canal, Red Sea and Persian Gulf they are. There are periodic reports that ships are being attacked. But this doesn’t happen the same way as in films with a one-legged or one-armed captain and a flag “ Jolly Roger", they disguise themselves more as fishermen. However, the Greek company is insuring itself: it hires special security.
- Our company hires security for these areas. But even pirates are unlikely to be able to reach our specific ships without it,- Sasha explains. - We usually go 19 knots - about 36-37 kilometers per hour. For merchant ships this is fast: regular merchant ships reach a speed of 10-12 knots (18-20 kilometers per hour). Plus, we have a high freeboard: from water to deck - 16 meters. For comparison, oil tankers have 7. Plus at this speed it goes big wave- not so easy to climb. But even if the pirates try to get closer, the guards simply show their weapons and they sail away.
“There is no doctor on the ship, but even the captain can stitch up a wound.”
The life of sailors is simple: cabins with beds, wardrobes, shower and toilet. The officers' cabins are cleaned by stewards, while the sailors clean their own. The food is different: companies save on it, so you don’t have to eat it every time: cereals, soups, vegetables, sometimes fruits, meat and fish.
- When we load provisions, the agents say, “Here’s enough for you for three months.” The cook comes and answers: “It’s good if it’s enough for a month.” And if you can still buy fresh provisions, that’s very good. Sometimes we indulge: we eat red caviar with spoons or take Far Eastern chum salmon for $3.5 per kilogram.
The hospital room is located separately. But there is no doctor on cargo ships: all crew members undergo a thorough medical examination before the voyage, and if there is the slightest suspicion of illness, a person is not taken on board.
- Now I have become the second assistant, so I am already responsible for the hospital. And almost everyone who is injured or feels bad comes to me,- says Sasha. - I will provide first aid, but if a person gets sick, then we have to call a helicopter if we are at sea. Well, we provide first aid to everyone, even the captain. He can even stitch up the wound. But conditions force us to do something.
Periodically, the team discusses emergencies on other ships and tries to improve safety on the ship.
- For example, in last flight news arrived that the mechanic of one of the ships had fallen overboard. He was not saved because stopping abruptly and quickly returning to the same point is almost impossible. And to freeze in water at +4 degrees, 10 minutes is enough,- the sailor sighs.
Living for three or even six months in a confined space with a limited number of people is quite a challenge. A Brest resident says that a mile away he sees a person whose contract is about to expire: conflicts are growing, there are depressions.
- Because of this, senior officers are even allowed to take their wives on the flight,- the guy explains. - I’ve never come across this, but this point exists.
If they don’t take their wives with them, entertainment saves them: satellite Internet, exercise equipment, you can watch movies or read books, study something and develop.
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 did not find widespread use until the last years of 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 application new technology there 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 Association of River Shipbuilding 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.
Belarus, as you know, has no access to the sea. And in this regard, many residents of the republic do not even imagine that the country has its own fleet, even a river one. Telegraph correspondents were able to verify that the Belarusian fleet exists personal experience, having visited the river port of Bobruisk (which, by the way, is one of the eight branches of the Republican Unitary Enterprise "Belarusskoe river shipping company"), and after having traveled and with the cargo not a single ten kilometers on a towing ship.
He told us about the work of the Bobruisk port and the Belarusian shipping company chief engineer port Grigory Artemchik. According to him, the management of the Belarusian river fleet is carried out by the Republican Unitary Enterprise "Belarusian River Shipping Company" with its center in Mozyr. In addition to the port in Bobruisk, it includes seven more river ports: Gomel, Mozyr, Rechitsa, Brest, Pinsk, Mikashevichi and Mogilev. Grigory Artemchik noted that it is the shipping company that coordinates the activities of all ports, depending on what tasks the shipping company faces, uses “this or that watercraft, if it is free, and sends it to any point in Belarus where it can be delivered.”
Thus, the ships of the Bobruisk port, although they work mainly on the Berezina, but in 2008-2010 they worked in the port of Gomel and also reached Turov. Today, one of the Bobruisk dredgers (a vessel designed for dredging and extraction of non-metallic construction materials) operates in the river port of Mogilev.
The main activity of the port of Bobruisk today is the transportation of construction mineral cargo. Basically, this is sand, which is mined from the bottom of the Berezina to ensure navigation on it in the summer. “The dredger loads sand onto non-self-propelled barges, motor ships tow the barges to the port, and then we unload construction sand using portal cranes,” noted the port’s chief engineer.
“To go, for example, to Mikashevichi for crushed stone is very far. You have to go to the Dnieper, go through Ukraine to Pripyat to Mikashevichi - this is a very large circle over a distance of 830 km (while the distance from Mikashevich to Bobruisk by rail is only 300 km ). Therefore, such transportation at the moment No. However, notes the chief engineer, river and railway transport complement each other.
“There are places where the railway does not reach, and we can transport crushed stone and any other cargo there. The shipping company was a little forgotten as a form of transport, but now it is slowly beginning to revive. The Belarusian river shipping company is starting to work closely with Ukraine: we transport granulated slag , we carry out timber transportation and transportation of petroleum products. “This is largely done by the river port of Mozyr and adjacent ports,” he says.
“Last year, our ship participated in the transportation of oversized cargo for the Novolukoml and Berezovskaya State District Power Plants. Apparently, this year there will be some deliveries as well. We plan to take part in these transportations along the Berezina River,” said Grigory Artemchik. In the last three years, Bobruisk ships also transported timber for the Svetlogorsk pulp and cardboard mill from the Berezino pier, where timber was harvested.
The port of Bobruisk currently employs 67 people. In operation there are three towing ships, two dredgers, five non-self-propelled barges with a lifting capacity of 1 thousand tons and two non-self-propelled barges with a lifting capacity of 350 tons, two floating reloaders, which are used when working where there are no portal cranes (in Svetlogorsk, Parichi). In total, in 2012 the Bobruisk port had 300 thousand tons of transportation, this year 350-400 thousand tons are expected.
“We work as soon as the ice melts and before freeze-up. Naturally, in the spring, when the waters are high, we can make maximum use of the carrying capacity of our barges. After working in May and June in Bobruisk and accumulating sand for construction organizations in Bobruisk, we will go to work in Svetlogorsk. In In July-September, of course, the loading of ships decreases due to the lack of depth. But since we are constantly deepening the bottom, we try to maintain the volume of transportation during the winter period for fleet repairs, both in the port itself and in the Rechitsa and Gomel shipbuilding areas. -ship repair yards, which were recently joined to the shipping company,” he noted.
In addition, according to Grigory Artemchik, the port is now closely involved in the delivery of construction sand for the needs of individuals. “People come, order, and we load right on the spot without involving third parties. And, thanks to this, we receive additional income,” said the chief engineer.
He also noted that Belarus fully provides itself with personnel for the Belarusian shipping company, as well as ships. Thus, the command staff of the fleet is trained by the Svetlogorsk State Industrial College. People emerge from it as second mates to the captain or commander of the dredger. Gomel State Vocational School of River Fleet No. 30 trains motor mechanics. In addition, senior command personnel are trained there. Engineering and technical personnel are trained by the Belarusian State University of Transport and the Department of Shipbuilding and Hydraulics at BNTU. “The training of all personnel in Belarus has been streamlined,” emphasized Grigory Artemchik
Pinsky is currently engaged in the production of passenger ships. shipyard. Three passenger ships Its production has recently been running in Mogilev and Vitebsk. “Previously, the production of thousand-ton barges was carried out by the Rechitsa shipbuilding plant. Tugboats were produced by the Pinsk and Gomel shipbuilding plants, 350-ton barges by the Petrikovsky shipbuilding plant. And there was a shipbuilding plant in Bobruisk, but in 1986 it was combined with the port under the Soviet Union,” - said the chief engineer.
Grigory Artemchik also noted that during the ten years of his work at the port there were no significant incidents. According to him, all problems are being resolved as usual.
At the same time, Alexander Livanovich, a second-generation river captain, on the ship under whose control Telegraph correspondents set sail, said that anything could happen. So, according to him, it had happened many times before that ships were stranded and had their bottoms broken on rocks. In such cases, barges often had to be unloaded, towed, and repaired.
“This used to be the case. Now they are trying to transport everything across high water. When the water starts to fall more, they will be transferred to Svetlogorsk. It won’t be profitable here: the fuel is burned, and there is little cargo to transport. There are such places that there are a lot of stones If you get a little overloaded, that’s the only way you’ll get through,” the captain noted.
The only woman in the Bobruisk port, the cook on the ship that sheltered us, Anna Maksimova, also had to stand aground, and she treated Telegraph journalists to her dishes. Although, according to her, the saying “it’s unfortunate for a woman on a ship” is not about her. “Once four barges with timber were pulled from Berezino. So we sat aground for six days. It seemed like the shore was close, but there was no way to get out. Having been aground, we had to bake bread ourselves and do everything. It was such that we had no water. They got water three kilometers away. Everything was fine,” she said.
According to Nikolaevna, this is her eighth navigation, but her first on this ship. The ship she sailed on earlier has been undergoing repairs in Rechitsa since this year. Nevertheless, she says, the team here is “young and good.” “Everyone especially loves potatoes. Even if you spread them on bread, they will eat potatoes. I bake pies and buns. The river asks for food, so we don’t take the kettle off the stove,” says the cook.
On a tugboat, our route lay from the river port of Bobruisk to Lukova Gora on the very outskirts of the city, where a dredger with a filled river sand by barge. Despite the fact that both the port and Onion Mountain are located in Bobruisk, it took about 2.5 hours to walk against the current along the numerous bends of the Berezina. At Onion Mountain, the ship's crew deftly replaced the empty barge with one filled with sand, and the ship set off on its return journey. The journey back was not so long and took only 1.5 hours - the current helped. Having delivered the barge to the port, the ship set off again, albeit without journalists.
Maxim Gatsak. Photo by Nadezhda Gatsak
In 1975, at the Wartsila shipyard in Finnish city Turku was handed over to the customer - Sovcomflot of the USSR - a new vehicle-passenger motor ship "Belorussia". 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 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 was 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 took place 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 ship first series - like "Belorussia" and "Georgia" it was built in 1975 and became the third ship of the "Belorussia" 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 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
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Photos of ships - www.shipspotting.com, www.faktaomfartyg.se
Information on renaming - www.faktaomfartyg.se
