Ivan Franko-class passenger ship

Aleksandr Pushkin, 1966
Class overview
BuildersVEB Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar, East Germany
Preceded byMikhail Kalinin class (project 101/SeeFa 340)
Built1963–1972[1]
In service1964–2020
Planned5
Building5
Completed5
Active0
Lost1
Retired4
General characteristics
TypeOcean liner → Cruise ship
Tonnage19,861 GRT[2]
Length175.79 m (577 ft) overall[2]
Beam23.61 m (77 ft)[2]
Height16.19 m (53 ft)[2]
Draught8.11 m (27 ft)[2]
Decks8 passenger decks
Installed power2 × Sulzer-Cegielski 7RND76 diesels, 15,666 kW (21,008 hp)[1]
Propulsion2 propellers
Speed20.45 knots (37.87 km/h; 23.53 mph)[2]
Capacity750 passengers

The Ivan Franko-class passenger ship (project 301, in Germany known as Seefa 750[3]) was a class of Soviet ocean liners and cruise ships, operated by the Baltic State Shipping Company (BGMP) and Black Sea Shipping Company (ChMMP or BLASCO).[4] The five Soviet ships Ivan Franko, Aleksandr Pushkin, Taras Shevchenko, Shota Rustaveli and Mikhail Lermontov were constructed in 1963–1972 by the East German company VEB Mathias-Thesen Werft, in Wismar. The class was named after its lead ship, which took its name from the Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The last remaining vessel, the Aleksandr Pushkin – last known as Marco Polo, was retired in 2020 and beached in Alang, India for scrapping on 13 January 2021.[5]

Description and construction

The Ivan Franko class surpassed the earlier Mikhail Kalinin class as Germany's (in both parts of Germany) largest passenger ships after World War II. With a length of 176 metres (577 ft 5 in)[6] the Ivan Franko vessels were 54 metres (177 ft 2 in) longer than the prior largest passenger ship, Mikhail Kalinin and its classmates. The Ivan Franko vessels were also 7.5 metres (24 ft 7 in) wider, and with a gross register tonnage of 19,861, almost three times larger.

The construction of this class featured some notable differences from contemporary ships built in the west. Among other things they offered cabins for six people and had three taps in the bathrooms – for hot, cold and sea water – Both of these features had been long abandoned in western liners. The ships also featured certain forward-looking features, such as all outside accommodation for passengers as well as the crew, and an indoor/outdoor swimming pool with a sliding glass roof.

Ocean liners/cruise ships of Project 301/Seefa 750

Ivan Franko class passenger ships
No. Original name English transliteration
1 Иван Франко (Frank) Ivan Franko (Frank)
2 Александр Пушкин (Marco Polo) Aleksandr Pushkin (Marco Polo)
3 Тарас Шевченко (Tara) Taras Shevchenko (Tara)
4 Шота Руставели (Assedo) Shota Rustaveli (Assedo)
5 Михаил Лермонтов Mikhail Lermontov

Overview

Ivan Franko class passenger ships
Year of build Hull No Image Name First operator Port of Registry Flag IMO-No. Status
1964 125 Ivan Franko ChMMP Odessa → Kingstown → 5415901 originally, Ivan Franko; sold in 1997 to Polluks Shipping; out of service since 21 July 1997; scrapped in Alang [7]
1965 126 Marco Polo BGMP Leningrad → Vladivostok → Nassau → → 6417097 originally Aleksandr Pushkin;[8] scrapped in Alang in 2021[9]
1966 127 Tara ChMMP Odessa → Monrovia → Odessa → → → → 6508195 originally, Taras Shevtchenko; out of service since 29 January 2005; scrapped in Chittagong[10]
1968 128 Assedo ChMMP Odessa → Monrovia → Odessa → Kingstown → → → → → 6707753 originally, Shota Rustaveli; scrapped in Alang in 2003[11]
1972 129 Mikhail Lermontov BGMP Leningrad 7042318 sank on 16 February 1986 near Gannet Point (New Zealand) [12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b M/S Aleksandr Pushkin(in Swedish)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Регистровая книга морских судов СССР 1964–1965 [Register Book of Sea-going Ships of the USSR] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2013-11-03. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  3. ^ "DDR Schiffbau". german-shipbuilding.com (in German). Archived from the original on 2013-06-15. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Ivan Franko Class". simplonpc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  5. ^ Gonzalez, Frank. "[VIDEO] CMV Marco Polo Beaching in Alang Scrap Yard". Cruises-Info.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Ivan Franko data in English". Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
  7. ^ Frank (Иван Франко → 06.1997)(in Russian)
  8. ^ Marco Polo (до 1991 Александр Пушкин)(in Russian)
  9. ^ Gonzalez, Frank. "[VIDEO] CMV Marco Polo Beaching in Alang Scrap Yard". Cruises-Info.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  10. ^ Tara (Тарас Шевченко → 08.1995 Taras Shevchenko → 08.2001 Тарас Шевченко → 10.2004) (in Russian)
  11. ^ Assedo (Шота Руставели → 2001)
  12. ^ Михаил Лермонтов(in Russian)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ivan Franko class passenger ships.