MV Arvin

Last updated

History
Name
  • Volgo-Balt 189 (1975–1997)
  • Arvin (1997–2021) [1]
Owner
  • USSR/Russia (1975–1992)
  • White Sea & Onega Sg Co (1992–1997)
  • Delphin Maritime Co Ltd (1997–2009)
  • RE Sg & Trade Ltd (2009–2013)
  • Arvin Sg Ltd (2016–2021)
OperatorTesoro Marine LLC
Port of registry
  • USSR/Russia (1975–1992)
  • Malta (1992–2013)
  • Cambodia (2013–2016)
  • Malakai Harbor, Palau (2016–2021)
Completed1975
In service1975
Out of service2021
Identification
FateSank after breaking up in heavy seas
General characteristics
TypeGeneral cargo ship
Tonnage3509 t
Displacement4761 t
Length114 m (374 ft 0 in)
Beam13 m (42 ft 8 in)
Draught3.85 m (12 ft 8 in) (summer)
Installed power1,030 kW (1,380 hp)
PropulsionDiesel
Speed6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph)
Capacity4,724 m3 (166,800 cu ft)
Crew12
Notes [1]

MV Arvin was a Ukrainian bulk cargo ship that broke in two and sank in heavy seas off the coast of Bartin, Turkey, in 2021. A video of the ship breaking apart was posted on YouTube. [2] Six of the 12 crew aboard survived the sinking, with three dead recovered and three of the six missing but presumed dead.

Contents

History

Starting as the Volgo-Balt 189, the MV Arvin was originally built in 1974 in Czechoslovakia as a lake/river freighter. She was sold and reflagged several times through her life. She was named Arvin in 1997 by the Delphin Maritime Co. Ltd., the name she kept for the rest of her career. [1]

The Volgo-Balt class were lake/river freighters, meant to sail within generally calm water, and were not intended for the high seas. Nevertheless, many of them have seen use on and around the Black Sea. Several of these have sunk, including the Volgo-Balt 214, lost in 2019, killing six of 13 crew. [3] Two months after the Arvin sank, Volgo-Balt 179 sank in the Black Sea, with 10 of 13 crew surviving. [4]

In 2020, port officials in Georgia noted severe deck corrosion and poorly maintained weather hatches on the Arvin, suggesting that the ship should be scrapped. [5] Her owner kept her at sea, however. She was due for a major audit in April 2021. [6]

Sinking

On 2 January 2021, the ship left Poti, Georgia, headed for Burgas, Bulgaria. She carried approximately 2,900 tons of urea to be used as fertilizer. She sought shelter from adverse weather off the coast of Sinop, Turkey, on 5 January 2021, where she remained for nine days. On the 14th, she again set sail, only to anchor at Bartın, Turkiye, the next day in anticipation of further adverse weather. [6]

On 17 January 2021, the weather worsened. Heavy seas of 2–3 meters (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) with winds at force 5-6 (17–27 knots , 31–50 km/h, 20–31 mph) caused the vessel to pitch and roll. At approximately 11:00 am local time, the captain ordered the crew to provide additional control from the main engines. At approximately 12:20 pm, the Arvin broke in two amidships. The captain immediately radioed a distress call, and soon after triggered an alarm and sent a message over the intercom to abandon ship. [6]

Ten of the twelve crew gathered on the poop deck, most donning immersion suits and life jackets; the Master (or Captain) and First Officer could not make it to the gathering but had been helped into immersion suits by the Second Officer before he joined the others; most said only the Chief Engineer was without an immersion suit despite there being enough on board, but the Welder reported that the Deck Cadet also had no immersion suit.

As the vessel began to list to port, one or two Cadets fell into the water, possibly including the Deck Cadet who had not yet donned an immersion suit, and within another two minutes the remaining crew began to leave the vessel intentionally. A total of five, including the Third Officer, Cook, Oiler (Motorman), Third Engineer, and a Cadet made it into a life raft, while several others including the Bosun jumped into the sea. The Chief Engineer and Second Engineer jumped into the sea last, of those on the poop deck.

According to crew interviews, two pairs of crew members, of the four or more crew members who did not make the life raft, held onto two separate pieces of wood to stay afloat. The swell prevented the lifeboats and swimmers from joining each other. Not all who made it into the raft or held onto the wood survived. The Turkish Coast Guard was on the scene within 2.5 hours, rescuing six living persons and recovering three bodies. The remaining three bodies of the six total who died were never found.

Survivors were the Cadet with an immersion suit who had fallen into the water, the Chief Engineer who had gone into the water without an immersion suit, the Second Officer also in an immersion suit, and three of those in immersion suits in the raft: the Welder, the Second Engineer, and the Motorman (Oiler). The bodies of the Cook, a Cadet and the First Officer were recovered. The bodies of the Master (Captain), Bosun and the Deck Cadet without an immersion suit were not recovered. [6]

Related Research Articles

German submarine <i>U-47</i> (1938) World War II German submarine

German submarine U-47 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 25 February 1937 at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel as yard number 582 and went into service on 17 December 1938 under the command of Günther Prien.

The Liberty ship SS Henry Bacon was the last allied ship sunk by the Luftwaffe in World War II. Twenty two crew members and seven members of the United States Navy Armed Guard lost their lives in this action. The vessel was named after Henry Bacon, the American architect who designed and built many monuments and settings for public sculpture, including the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

SS <i>Carl D. Bradley</i> Self-unloading Great Lakes freighter that sank in a Lake Michigan storm

SS Carl D. Bradley was an American self-unloading Great Lakes freighter that sank in a Lake Michigan storm on November 18, 1958. Of the 35 crew members, 33 died in the sinking. Twenty-three were from the port town of Rogers City, Michigan, United States. Her sinking was likely caused by structural failure from the brittle steel used in her construction as well as extensive use throughout her 31-year career.

<i>Concordia</i> (ship) Steel-hulled barquentine

Concordia was a steel-hulled barquentine that was built in Poland in 1992 for the West Island College, Montreal, Canada. She served as a sail training ship until she capsized and sank on 17 February 2010.

MV <i>Senopati Nusantara</i> Indonesian ferry; sank in a 2006 storm

The MV Senopati Nusantara was an Indonesian ferry that sank in a storm on December 30, 2006. The Japanese-made ship was a scheduled passenger liner from the port of Kumai in Central Kalimantan (Borneo) to Tanjung Emas port in Semarang, Central Java. About 40 km (25 mi) off Mandalika Island, the ship sank during a violent storm in the Java Sea. At least 400–500 people are thought to have drowned.

SS <i>Daniel J. Morrell</i> Great Lakes freighter sunk in a storm in Lake Huron

SS Daniel J. Morrell was a 603-foot (184 m) Great Lakes freighter that broke up in a strong storm on Lake Huron on 29 November 1966, taking with her 28 of her 29 crewmen. The freighter was used to carry bulk cargoes such as iron ore but was running with only ballast when the 60-year-old ship sank. When built in 1906, she was the "Queen of the Lakes", being the longest ship then in service on the Great Lakes.

MV <i>Salem Express</i> Car and passenger ferry wrecked off the Egyptian coast

The Salem Express was a passenger ship that sank in the Red Sea. It is notable due to the heavy loss of life which occurred when she sank shortly after striking a reef at around 11:13pm on Saturday December 14, 1991.

M/V Pool Fisher was a British merchant vessel that sank off the Isle of Wight on 6 November 1979 with the loss of most of her crew.

MV <i>Princess of the Stars</i> Philippine passenger ferry, sank disastrously

MV Princess of the Stars was a passenger ferry owned by Filipino shipping company Sulpicio Lines, that capsized and sank on June 21, 2008, off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon at the height of Typhoon Fengshen, which was locally named by PAGASA as Frank. The storm passed directly over Romblon as a Category 2 typhoon, leading to the capsizing of the vessel; 814 people died as a result of the disaster.

SS <i>Henry Steinbrenner</i> Dry bulk freighter on the Great Lakes

The lake freighter SS Henry Steinbrenner was a 427-foot (130 m) long, 50-foot (15 m) wide, and 28-foot (8.5 m) deep, dry bulk freighter of typical construction style for the early 1900s, primarily designed for the iron ore, coal, and grain trades on the Great Lakes. Commissioned by the Kinsman Transit Co. of Cleveland, Ohio she was launched as hull number 14 by Jenks Ship Building Co. of Port Huron, Michigan. Her design featured a forward forecastle containing crew cabins topped with an additional cabin and pilot house. The mid section was a long nearly flat deck over the cargo holds only interrupted by 12 hatches fitted with telescoping type hatch covers. The aft end featured a large cabin situated over the engine room containing the galley, mess rooms, and crew quarters and was topped with a smoke stack and air vents. The Steinbrenner later featured a "doghouse" cabin aft of her smoke stack to house added crew from a change in the crew watch system on the Great Lakes.

SS <i>Cedarville</i> Great lakes bulk carrier wrecked in a collision

SS Cedarville was a bulk carrier that carried limestone on the Great Lakes in the mid-20th century until it sank after a collision with another ship, MV Topdalsfjord on May 7, 1965.

MV <i>Blythe Star</i> Ship that sank in 1973 near Tasmania

The vessel MV Blythe Star was a coastal freighter which foundered off south-western Tasmania in October 1973. The crew of 10 successfully took to a small inflatable liferaft but drifted undiscovered. A search for the ship and its crew led to the largest maritime search operation conducted in Australia to that time.

Sinking of MV <i>Marina Baru 2B</i> 2015 maritime incident in Indonesia

The sinking of MV Marina Baru 2B occurred just after noon on 19 December 2015. The high speed vessel carrying 112 passengers and crew sank off the coast of Bone, South Sulawesi in inclement weather conditions. A nine-day search and rescue operation, conducted by authorities, successfully rescued 45 survivors and recovered 65 bodies from the sea. Twelve people were declared missing and presumed dead.

MV Volgo-Balt 214 was a Panama-flagged Ukrainian general cargo ship, which sank in the Black Sea off the coast of Samsun, Turkey on 7 January 2019. Six of the thirteen crew members on board died while seven of them were rescued by the Turkish authorities and taken to hospital.

USCGC <i>Jackson</i> United States Coast Guard cutter

USCGC Jackson (WSC-142) was an Active-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard. She capsized in 1944, killing twenty one of her forty crew members.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "ARVIN, General Cargo Ship - Details and current position - IMO 8874316 - VesselFinder". www.vesselfinder.com. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  2. MV Arvin Moment of breaking of the ship (Video) #shipwrecks #Ship_Accident, 17 January 2021, retrieved 27 July 2023
  3. "Video: Six Dead After Soviet-Era Freighter Sinks in Black Sea". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  4. ERR, BNS | (11 March 2021). "Estonian-owned cargo vessel sinks in Black Sea, at least two dead". ERR. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  5. "Questions raised over carrier sinking within sight of land and two". Freight News. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "ARVIN MMC Casualty Investigation Report" (PDF). www.palaureg.com. 1 March 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2023.