Veterans from the Enchanted Wanderer: the only downside of the cruise was the weather. Veterans from the “Enchanted Wanderer”: the only downside of the cruise was the weather The Enchanted Wanderer motor ship ran aground
They plan to return to work again. True, this time he will be operated not from Kazan, which, in fact, failed his work in the 2018 season, but by a new company.
According to the schedule sent to Cruiseinform by the Capital-Travel company from Nizhny Novgorod, she should become the lessee of the vessel for the 2019 season. It is especially noted that according to the company’s policy, it does not consider options for working with motor ships other than leasing and subsequent purchase of the vessel.
This is an important clarification, given that the company already announced its entry into the cruise market earlier this year, when it offered cruises on a double-decker ship. Then it was assumed that it should have been on the Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan - Moscow line, with the possibility of landing and dividing the routes into sections.
But for a number of reasons, plans to work with the vessel had to be curtailed. The company source who reported this asked not to mention the details, since they affect the interests of third parties, but asked to mention that all tourists who bought cruises according to the schedule announced by the company earlier this year were provided with equivalent replacements, in including compensation, so the company currently has no complaints from customers.
The motor ship "Enchanted Wanderer" in 2017. Photo: Vladislav Prokofiev
The first experience of working with a cruise ship, even if it turned out this way, will be taken into account by the company in the future, a source at Capital-Travel said, therefore, by providing a cruise schedule for the next year, the company guarantees the implementation of all announced flights. Moreover, the option of working with a vessel provides for lease with the right of further purchase, which is a key point.
According to the schedule, “The Enchanted Wanderer” should begin work in 2019 on May 28, and end on September 23. During this time, 16 cruises are planned, in which Nizhny Novgorod should become the base port.
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The motor ship "Enchanted Wanderer" is a ship with an interesting, but complex fate. The history of such ships is difficult to fit into a couple of lines, and historical novels can be written about them. Suffice it to say that in just over 60 years of operation, the ship changed its name five times.
The motor ship was built in 1956 at the shipyard according to project 588. Initially it received the name of one of the lackeys of the Stalin era - which it bore until 1961. In the wake of de-Stalinization in 1961, it was renamed in honor of the Ukrainian poet and began to be called. In the rush to rename, “overboard” even the fact was left that on the rivers of the RSFSR there was a completely identical three-deck motor ship of the same design, also named in honor of the same free songwriter -. The two Shevchenkos sailed side by side until 1981, when the Vyshinsky-Shevchenko was finally given a worthy name: the ship was named -, who was the ex-head of the Belsky River Shipping Company (1946-1947), then the head of the Volgotanker Shipping Company ( 1947-1954), then Honored Director of the Volga United River Shipping Company (1958-1960), and finally ex-Minister of the River Fleet of the RSFSR (1960-1978).
After construction, the ship arrived in and until 1981 was assigned to Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod). From 1981 to 1999, the ship was based in Astrakhan. From 1991 to 1996, the ship did not go into operation.
In the spring of 2000, the ship was renamed again: the name Volga Shipping Company was transferred to a four-deck motor ship, and the name “Taras Shevchenko” was returned to the “Vyshinsky-Shevchenko-Kuchkin”. By the way, the name on board the middle deck of the four-deck motor ship “Sergei Kuchkin” is made up of letters that at one time, or rather in the spring of 2000, were removed from the side of the three-deck motor ship, which is why they looked and still look completely ridiculous. It is strange that for almost twenty years, having formally changed the owner and color scheme, the ship still sails.
After 1998, the ship was again laid up, where it sat until 2002. Then two ships of the same type - motor ships and the Taras Shevchenko - were bought by one of the private entrepreneurs, after which they were put into operation under new names. “Dmitry Donskoy” became , and “Taras Shevchenko” - .
Photo: Ivan Zagainov, 2009.
From October 2008 until 2016, the owner of the ship was the St. Petersburg cruise company, which worked with the ship until August 2015. Since 2016, the tour operator of the vessel has been the Volga Travel company from Kazan. 2017 is the last season when the ship worked normally, albeit... Last year the ship
“Again, or what, “Enchanted”? Fuck it!” This is how social media users reacted to the news that today, at midnight, the three-deck motor ship “Enchanted Wanderer,” leaving Kazan for Moscow with WWII veterans on board, ran aground on the Sura River in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Yes, he sat down so tightly that they still can’t push him out of his place.
But how beautifully it all began: yesterday morning at the pier of the Kazan river port, 120 veterans, 20 students of cadet schools and ten accompanying people went on a cruise dedicated to the 72nd anniversary of the Great Victory on the Enchanted Wanderer along the route Kazan - Moscow - Kazan.
First Deputy Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Republic of Tatarstan Marat Gafarov took part in the farewell ceremony. A rich cultural program awaited the veterans on board the ship, and excursion services were provided in the cities along the route.
Veterans had to travel along Mother Volga until June 8. But now this plan is in jeopardy: for a still unknown reason, a three-deck river vessel lost its way and ran aground at midnight on the Sura River near Vasilsursk in the Nizhny Novgorod region. So the veterans are now sitting in the middle of the river, waiting for a miracle. Meanwhile, Kazan residents recall on social networks that the Enchanted Wanderer runs aground quite regularly. The last time this happened was on September 10, 2016, when the ship, heading for repairs to Zaton named after. Kuibyshev, got stuck on the 1398th km of the Volga shipping lane.
As an initial version of today's incident, the Volga Transport Prosecutor's Office suggested that the reason for the sharp change in course was fog, but it is unlikely that it will be possible to attribute what happened only to unfavorable weather conditions.
I think that the notorious human factor is to blame for everything,” Vladimir Ermakov, chairman of the trade union committee of SK Tatflot, shared his assumption with Vechernyaya Kazan. - After all, even if the ship was traveling in fog, it has locators... But now it’s too early to draw any conclusions until all the circumstances are clarified.
When asked whether the grounding of the ship was an extraordinary event for river workers, Ermakov replied that it was not, but clarified that this was certainly a serious transport incident, the consequences of which could be different.
“It’s one thing if the ship landed on a sandbank, it’s another thing if it flew onto rocks, in which case the hull may be broken,” a Tatflot representative gave an example.
According to the Volga Region Transport Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, nothing terrible happened to the “Enchanted Wanderer”, its passengers and crew - no one was injured, there were no water leaks or oil spills. But Vladimir Ermakov says that it is impossible to be one hundred percent sure that everything is fine with the ship. To ensure this, the ship must at least be refloated.
And this, as it turned out, is a big problem - as Maya Ivanova, senior assistant to the Volga transport prosecutor for interaction with the media, told the Vechernyaya Kazan correspondent, the ship is very heavy and it is difficult to find a ship that could push it aground. However, at 14.30 it became known that assistance to the Enchanted Wanderer was already underway and within the next two hours the operation to rescue the ship from captivity could be completed.
After this, the ship will have to obtain a conclusion from river registry specialists, who will determine whether the Enchanted Wanderer can continue the journey or whether it must be lifted onto the slips for inspection. So it is still unclear how events will develop further. It is worth noting that “The Enchanted Wanderer” has a rather busy schedule during the current navigation. On June 9, he is due to set off on a new cruise along the route Kazan - Bolgars - Ulyanovsk - Samara - Shiryaevo - Kazan.
The director of the Volga Travels company (under whose flag the Enchanted Wanderer now floats) Vyacheslav Samolin preferred not to give detailed comments about what happened on the Sura River, limiting himself to only a short one: “When we find out everything, we’ll tell you.”
Reference:“The Enchanted Wanderer” was built in 1956 at the shipyard of the GDR; the ship was reconstructed in 2002, and general reconstruction was carried out in 2011. The passenger capacity of the ship is 206 people, power is 1200 hp.
Photo from the website of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Tatarstan
The motor ship "Enchanted Wanderer", which became famous throughout the country after it ran aground in the Nizhny Novgorod region, has successfully returned to Kazan and is ready for new travels. A Tatar-inform news agency correspondent met him today at the river port of Kazan.
The ship "Enchanted Wanderer" was making a voyage along the route Kazan - Moscow - Kazan. On board were 120 veterans of the Great Patriotic War and combat operations in hot spots. This voyage of the “Wanderer” became known throughout the country after an incident that occurred on the night of May 29-30 - the ship ran aground near the village of Vasilsursk, Nizhny Novgorod region.
“There was wind and rain. The senior mate lost orientation, did not notice the buoy and turned in the other direction. “What caused the ship to run aground,” shared the captain of the “Enchanted Wanderer” Evgeny Mishalov.
The ship of the travel company Volzhskie Travel Plus LLC sat aground for about a day. According to the captain of the Wanderer, ships passed by, but none of them stopped to help. That's why they waited so long for help. According to the captain of the ship, the main thing in organizing river tours now is, alas, personal gain - everyone passing by was in a hurry to complete their voyages.
Employees of the port control and Rostransnadzor took part in the “rescue operation” to refloat it; their actions were coordinated by representatives of the Volga Transport Prosecutor’s Office and the management of the Volga Shipping Company, which provided the pusher vessel.
After a thorough check of the technical condition of the ship by representatives of regulatory authorities, the ship continued its river cruise.
“Despite the fact that the ship returned to the river cruise according to the planned route, the Volga Transport Prosecutor’s Office in connection with the incident continues to check for compliance with the requirements of the legislation on navigation safety and establishes the degree of guilt of all persons involved in the incident. Based on the results of the prosecutor’s inspection, the issue of the necessary prosecutorial response measures will be resolved,” said Maya Ivanova, senior assistant to the Volga transport prosecutor for interaction with the media, on May 31.
Being grounded shifted the arrival date by a day, but this did not affect its further schedule. The first to leave the ship today was Alexander Polyakov, a retired lieutenant colonel, a participant in combat operations in Afghanistan, and the head of the cruise.
“Comrade General Major! The participants of the Kazan-Moscow-Kazan cruise returned from the voyage. During the cruise: no incidents, no comments. Everything is in order, they arrived in full force,” Alexander Polyakov reported to the chairman of the public organization of war veterans and military service of the Republic of Tatarstan Akhat Yulashev.
"You are welcome!" – someone’s joyful voice and applause were immediately heard.
The flight with veterans on board became possible thanks to the support of the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan - this year the cruise took place for the 13th time. All the veterans, coming ashore, shared only positive emotions.
“There were problems, there were many more positive experiences than negative ones. When they asked what veterans do, the answer was the same: they sing and dance,” shared Kazbek Rizvanov from Nizhnekamsk.
Alexander Solomoikov went from an ordinary Red Army soldier to a colonel, giving almost 70 years to the army, forty of which he served in the Kazan Artillery School. According to him, the only trouble with the trip was the weather.
“The weather, of course, was not particularly kind to us. Both in Moscow and at the entrance to Moscow. But we brought good weather to Kazan. And now, in my opinion, it’s wonderful here. So, thank you. In any case, I’m in my 92nd year, I feel good, even very good after this cruise,” noted Alexander Solomoikov.
Veterans in every city where the ship made a stop performed an important ritual.
“The most important thing is that all the participants in the war, and we had 20 people, front-line soldiers, and 48 people equated to them, home front workers, combatants, laid wreaths at the Eternal Flame, this is the most important thing. In all major cities - such as Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod, Kalyazin, Moscow. Our veterans paid tribute to their memory and the young cadets were with them. They stood in honorable formation. That was great. Our Tatarstan residents, on behalf of all the dead and living, laid wreaths and flowers at the graves in all cities,” shared Alexander Polyakov, the head of the cruise.
Interesting things happened on board the ship while it was moving.
“Rich and extensive program. We were very welcome in all the cities along the cruise ship's route Kazan - Moscow - Kazan. We worked according to the established agreed schedule. There are military-patriotic, cultural, educational and local history programs here. Veterans are such a category - they are extremely optimistic. Under no circumstances did they lose their good spirits. We published a newspaper, we conducted radio broadcasts on the ship. Well, they sang, danced, talked and exchanged work experience,” said Tamara Rubinskaya, head of the department for work with public organizations of the Ministry of Labor and Employment and Social Protection of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Despite the incident on the way, the ship is technically sound and ready for further travel. By the way, this evening it sails to Samara.
Discuss()
The motor ship with the romantic name “Enchanted Wanderer” again found itself at the center of a scandal. On social networks, users write that the voyage on which the ship was supposed to depart last Friday did not take place. Why the ship is laid up in a river port - in the Tatar-inform report.
“I heard that the flight did not take place on Friday - people went home. They were turned around. Yesterday I was at the port, at the 14th berth there was “Pavel Mironov”, and behind him “Strannik”. Empty...” – shared Lilia Burashnikova.
As the Tatar-inform news agency learned from its own source, some time ago the “Enchanted Wanderer” was prohibited from going on voyages - employees of the port control service conducted an inspection and recorded violations of safety rules on this ship.
Judging by the page of the official website of the Volga Travel Plus travel agency, the Enchanted Wanderer motor ship should have been somewhere on its way to Yaroslavl today. However, as Tatar-inform news agency managed to find out, it is currently laid up in the river port of Kazan.
We turned to Volga Travel Plus for answers.
“There will be no official comments for the press on the situation with the ship, because we believe that journalists are distorting the information,” a man who introduced himself as Stanislav, deputy director of the Volzhskie Travel Plus company, told the Tatar-inform news agency; he refused to give his last name. .
The agency's correspondent found the director of the Volga Travel Plus company, Vyacheslav Samolin, at the river port on board the Enchanted Wanderer. The man reacted very negatively to the appearance of journalists and refused to comment on anything.
Once on the ship "Enchanted Wanderer", which was laid up in the port next to the "Pavel Mironov", we were able to talk with captain Radik Shaikhutdinov. He categorically denied the information from social networks.
“Our engine broke down, so port control detained us. And everything is fine with our crew - you see, the guys are working. We plan to take off on July 6,” assured Radik Shaikhutdinov.
By the way, we counted about seven guys in the visibility zone on the ship.
One of the crew members of the neighboring Pavel Mironov said that the Wanderer had been standing for a long time.
“They were detained by port control due to lack of crew, we are also standing for this reason. Now we are recruiting, but we only have a couple of people missing, and as far as I understand, everyone there has fled,” shared the riverman.
On social networks we were able to find many advertisements for the search for employees for the ship. First mate, bartenders, and restaurant workers are also invited to work. At the same time, reviews from former crew members appear in the comments every now and then, warning that they may be cheated with their salaries.
We contacted the state port control service, the agency confirmed the information that there had been an inspection and that it had indeed revealed violations.
“The ship is short-staffed, and at the time of the inspection there were not enough command staff. In addition, all four diesel generators of the ship are problematic: one was disassembled at the time of inspection, the other three had malfunctions. Plus, “The Enchanted Wanderer” did not have several ship documents from the mandatory list,” Alexander Kryukov, head of the state port control service, told Tatar-inform news agency.
According to Alexander Kryukov, in accordance with the procedure for conducting inspections, which is regulated by the Code of Inland Water Transport, if the faults are eliminated, then, for example, the captain of the ship can contact the port control service with a request to conduct a re-inspection and lift the ban on cruises.
The Volga-Volga group also found itself in an unpleasant situation due to the technical condition of the vessel. At the beginning of May, the musicians planned to please their fans with a concert on the ship, but the plan had to be cancelled.
“We were supposed to sail on the first voyage in navigation. And the justification was simple - the ship at that moment did not have time to prepare for navigation. I don’t know all the nuances of preparing the technical documentation, it was just a wording that the ship didn’t have time to be prepared after the winter,” said the band’s lead singer Anton Salakaev.
Personal agreements with the company were respected and all money was returned, the musician added.
This is not the first scandal with the Enchanted Wanderer ship. Earlier, Tatar-inform news agency reported that in May 2017, the ship “Enchanted Wanderer” ran aground in the Nizhny Novgorod region. At that moment, on board were 120 veterans of the Great Patriotic War, labor, as well as participants in conflicts in hot spots, 20 cadets, three social security workers, and 30 crew members. It took more than a day to refloat the ship.
As it turned out, from July 10 to 14, a cruise on the motor ship “Enchanted Wanderer” was promised to the finalists of the Republican festival of children’s, youth and youth press “Altyn Kalem” - “Golden Pen”. Children must spend four days on the Volga on this ship.
The organizers of the competition, as it became known to the agency, do not yet know that the ship is in the port due to violations of safety requirements.
