Russian Ship Mikhail Lermontov

I remember back in 1976 going on a Russian Cruise ship out of Baltimore to the Caribbean. It was quite an experience, especially when the authorities cam aboard after being in St. Thomas to go through the luggage. We weren't allowed to dock in San Juan.

When we tried talking to the staff (I remember the cruise director's names were...get this Boris and Natasha...I kid you not), they refused to answer questions about their homeland and would only talk about the ship and the cruise.

Fascinating story... It must have been quite interesting as a Westerner travelling aboard a Soviet ship at that time.

MIKHAIL LERMONTOV is actually a rather famous vessel, because she sank in New Zealand in 1986 due to the error of the NZ pilot who was at the helm at the time. (Fortunately, there was no loss of life.) More information on her history and her sinking can be seen here from the NZ National Maritime Museum.

This very attractive liner was the last in a series of five vessels built for the Soviets in East Germany. They were the flagships of the Soviet passenger fleet at the time of their construction. These started in 1964 with IVAN FRANKO, then ALEXANDR PUSHKIN in 1965, TARAS SHEVCHENKO in 1967, SHOTA RUSTAVELI in 1968, and finally MIKHAIL LERMONTOV in 1972.

All of the ships were deliviered to various subsidiaries of the Soviet state shipping company, Morflot ("sea fleet"). Like its more famous airborne counterpart, Aeroflot ("air fleet"), Morflot was divided up into regional divisions. The three mainly involved in passenger shipping were the Black Sea Shipping Company (BLASCO) of Odessa, the Far Eastern Shipping Company (FESCO) of Vladivostok, and the Baltic Shipping Company of Leningrad.

Originally the ships were mainly used for cruises in Europe, except for ALEXANDR PUSHKIN and MIKHAIL LERMONTOV, which were both originally built for Leningrad-New York-Montreal liner service. From the 1970s and through the 1990s, the ships were used not only for cruises for the Soviet market, but also for Western markets as a way of bringing hard currency into the USSR. The ships were sold in varous countries, especially West Germany; cruises were marketed both by independent tour operators (as was usually the case in West Germany) or by Soviet-owned firms such as the UK-market CTC Cruises. They were the biggest, most luxurious, and most modern Soviet ships with the exception of the national flagship, MAXIM GORKIY, originally built as the West German HAMBURG in 1969 and bought by Morflot in 1974. (She is still sailing, chartered as she has been for years to the German tour operator Phoenix Riesen; she is still the Russian flagship as well as being one of the most popular German-market cruise ships and one of the most famous passenger ships in the world becuase she played host to the Bush-Gorbachev summit in 1989.)

The individual histories of the IVAN FRANKO-class ships are as follows:

IVAN FRANKO spent her entire career with BLASCO, to whom she had originally been delivered. After the collapse of the USSR, she continued with BLASCO - now the Ukrainian state shipping company - until 1995 when she was laid up at Illychevsk, Ukraine due to the BLASCO's financial difficulties. In 1997 she was broken up at Aliaga, Turkey.

ALEXANDR PUSHKIN was delivered to the Baltic State Shipping Company, and was transferred to FESCO in 1985. In 1990 she was laid-up at Singapore and in 1991, FESCO sold her to the British entrepreneur Gerry Herrod, who sent her to Perama, Greece, for a massive two-year conversion. She emerged in 1993 as MARCO POLO, the first ship of his newly formed Orient Lines. Herrod sold part of Orient to NCL in 1998, and when Star Cruises bought NCL in 2000, they bought out Herrod's remaining interest in Orient. MARCO POLO still operates as Orient Lines' sole ship. (For a time they also operated CROWN ODYSSEY, now NORWEGIAN CROWN.) You can get a good sense of what she is like today by reading this review (with lots of photos) from my friend Raoul Fiebig.

Like IVAN FRANKO, TARAS SHEVCHENKO spent her entire Soviet career at BLASCO, who had originally taken delivery of her. She too was laid-up at Illychevsk, in 1998. In 2003 she was put back into service for the Ukranian market by the Ukranian firm Antarktika JSC but she was not successful and in late 2004 she was sold for scrap. In January 2005, she departed for Alang, India where she was broken up. You can get a good idea of what the interiors of an IVAN FRANKO-class ship looked like by taking a look at these photos of a stunningly original TARAS SHEVCHENKO taken during her last season by Patrick Wetter, an expert on Soviet passenger ships... Compare with Raoul's MARCO POLO photos and notice the huge difference. (In her former life, MARCO POLO would have looked much like this.)

SHOTA RUSTAVELI, too, spent her Soviet career with BLASCO. She was laid-up at Ilychevsk in 1998 alongside her older sister TARAS SHEVCHENKO. In 2001 she was reactivated for new owners as ASSEDO ("Odessa" spelled backwards) and acheived success as a cruise ship on the Russian market. However, a more modern ship was desired and in 2003 she was broken up at Alang.

MIKHAIL LERMONTOV, unlike ALEXANDR PUSHKIN, remained with the Baltic Shipping Company throughought her career, until she sank in 1986, being both the last of these ships to be built and the first to die.

MARCO POLO is today a very modern ship, very different from her former Soviet incarnation, and hopefully as the last survivor of this class will remain in service for many years to come.

I didn't know it at the time (I was 19 years old), but thinking about it, being a Russian Cruise Ship in American waters (during the so-called Cold War) was history in itself. I remember the US Authorities coming aboard on our way back to Baltimore, and going through everything because of some sort of warning. The Authorities went through every box and stateroom looking for "something".

Now I have to go through my photos and see if I can find pictures of when we were on the ship.

I was on the Taras Shevchenko for 4 weeks in 1980 when I was 8 years old, sailing from Southampton to Perth, Australia. It was a wonderful experience. The crew were really friendly and all seemed multitalented, doing not only their normal jobs but appearing in the entertainment shows.

Thanks for the link to the pictures - it looked like it had been done up a lot since we were there. It's sad to hear that the ship is no longer with us.

So glad to see these pictures of the Marco Polo. I sailed on her when she was the Alexander Pushkin from Montreal in the mid 70's with my family. I am looking forward to a time when I can get back on this ship and possibly sail to Antarctica. It looks like one of the new ships of today, It has been well preserved and taken care of.

I worked on the Alexander Pushkin sailing from Sydney and had requested to move to the MIKHAIL LERMONTOV two weeks before it sank off New Zealand. It was a much nicer ship than the Pushkin. I remember having really long discussions with the KGB officer on politics. Apart from what you may think the officers and crew were great to work with. The only time we saw the other side of the coin was if a crew member got involved with one of us westerners. We had on numerous occasions, a russian nuclear sub pull up in the middle of the night to transfer staff. This is a true story

I can recommend an excellent book concerning Mikhail Lermontov. It is titled Death of a Cruise Ship: The Mystery of the Mikhail Lermontov. The author is a New Zealander, Tom O'Connor. The book is well written and has some good photgraphs.

They were the biggest, most luxurious, and most modern Soviet ships with the exception of the national flagship, MAXIM GORKIY, originally built as the West German HAMBURG in 1969 and bought by Morflot in 1974. (She is still sailing, chartered as she has been for years to the German tour operator Phoenix Riesen; she is still the Russian flagship as well as being one of the most popular German-market cruise ships and one of the most famous passenger ships in the world becuase she played host to the Bush-Gorbachev summit in 1989.)

So glad that I found this bit of information. We were on the Zenith out of N.Y. and the Maxim Gorkiy was docked next to us. The Zenith was by no means a large ship but I remember seeing the Maxim Gorkiy setting sail and thinking I'm not sure I would want to be on a ship that small.

I did some research when we got home but didn't find too much on the Maxim. I see now that we were almost within arms reach of a famous ship. Didn't take a picture.:(

In 1978 my best friend & I crossed the Atlantic from Montreal to London on the A. Pushkin. It cost less than airfare at the time for us as students. The crossing took 10 days and was the last of the year (late September). You were a-ok if you took your gravol daily! At the time, virtually anything we wished to purchase on board cost 60 cents including drinks. The nightclub was called the White Nights and the band played the same 6 songs each night over and over but no one minded. Afternoon tea was the best - warm baked treats and tea in china cups. The meals were interesting - "meat, special sauce" we were told when we asked what we were eating. The last night at supper, they brought out a cake that looked like the ship with little lights inside it. Vodka shots were enjoyed by all. Our tickets said they would keep us should war break out, in other words, we'd become "prisoners of war"(!!??). It was remarkably an experience one is lucky to have in one's lifetime.

Misselaineous

I was on the Taras Shevchenko for 4 weeks in 1980 when I was 8 years old, sailing from Southampton to Perth, Australia. It was a wonderful experience. The crew were really friendly and all seemed multitalented, doing not only their normal jobs but appearing in the entertainment shows.

 

Thanks for the link to the pictures - it looked like it had been done up a lot since we were there. It's sad to hear that the ship is no longer with us.

Me too! I was 6 and travelled with my family from Southampton to Sydney, arriving in Sydney in May 1980. Were we friends?!!!

I sailed on the Alexander Pushkin in the summer of love (1968) as part of an American youth group tour of Europe and the Soviet Union. I was 16 at the time and it was my first experience on a ship of any kind. We sailed from Southampton England to Leningrad (St. Petersburg now) with a stop in Helsinki. The ship had just come accross from Canada with a load of Canadian students who had run riot and we were read the riot act by the cruise director not to behave like the Canadians. I recall the tiny covered pool was empty the entire cruise and the bar staff had no problem serving liquor to 16 year olds. (possibly one reason the Canadians were such a problem) There was one night of entertainment but the comic spoke Russian. I remember having borsch several meals and the food was not bad, lots of cabbage. The cabins were small and the ones we were in did not have bathrooms. The bath and shower were down the hall and shared by all. It was a fun trip, to bad I only have one photo remaining of the ship at dock in Leningrad. I'm glad to hear the old girl is still sailing.

I've been reading this thread with great interest. I'm glad that there are others here who've sailed on the Russian cruise ships. My mother booked the cruise, taking me along and leaving my father home. The things I remember most from this cruise was:

- being about to take Russian language lessons.

- the food, especially the Captain's dinners where we got to taste Russian food. Never had brown bread or borscht before until then. And then were the grumpy tablemates!:p

- the crew's performance night for the passengers. The theater/showlounge was not conducive to the high flying dancing.

- not getting proofed in any of the bars or the casino. I was 14 on my first cruise and was able to drink. I'll never forget trying the Russian vodka (my mother was OK with this.) at the welcome dinner and the burn I suffered afterwards (to this day, I can't drink vodka!) I had wanted a shawl from the gift shop and my mother wouldn't let me buy it. A gambler at heart, I walked into the Casino (well, I did look older for my age), played the 25 cent slot, won $25 and marched right into the gift shop. I told my mother after the fact and she was shocked.

- the crew being very reticent and shy. My guess is that they were not allowed to talk to passengers, especially on my first cruise because it was one of the first cruises with American passengers.

On the second cruise, I teamed up with about 15 - 20 teenagers. (Very few on the first cruise) We (more accurately they) drove the crew crazy from getting the elevator stuck to being bailed out by the Captain in San Juan because, at that time, it was very dangerous to walk Old San Juan. The cops picked them up and were taken into the police station.

But the best one was when my mother and a friend who we met on the first Gorky cruise wanted to see how low we were and where our cabin was. They decided to put the room service door tag on their cabin windows. They got off the ship (this was in St. Thomas) and went right back inside. They came back to find the empty suitcases pulled out and drawers searched. more likely than not, it was the KGB who thought they were signalling to someone on shore and not 2 crazy touristas who were curious to see where their cabins were.

Anita

I can dig out all the info i this, she sank in the top half of the South Island when the harbour master took a short cut and hit the rocks.

I have all the police records of what took place and the poor Russians got the blame!! i worked with these ships for 20 years and i met my russain wife on its sister ship!!

I worked on the Alexander Pushkin sailing from Sydney and had requested to move to the MIKHAIL LERMONTOV two weeks before it sank off New Zealand. It was a much nicer ship than the Pushkin. I remember having really long discussions with the KGB officer on politics. Apart from what you may think the officers and crew were great to work with. The only time we saw the other side of the coin was if a crew member got involved with one of us westerners. We had on numerous occasions, a russian nuclear sub pull up in the middle of the night to transfer staff. This is a true story

Yes thats true all right i have heaps of stories like this, and should put them in a book as it was a huge part of NZ and Aussie's spy history!

Yes thats true all right i have heaps of stories like this, and should put them in a book as it was a huge part of NZ and Aussie's spy history!

Hi Guys, I also worked on Alaxanda Pushkin cruise ship around south pacific and far east , I joined the ship in Hong Kong and prepared the Hairdressing salon whilst we sailed to Sydney without any passengers.

I have many fond memories of both the Russian crew and the British, Australian and N Z concessionares.

A few of my friends were whisked off in the night by the Russian Sub never to be seen again along with the Russian boys they were playing around with.

If any of the old crew or staff have any pics I would love you to post them please.:)

was 18, saved every month some money to make my first own shiptrip. Did the last Transatlantic Linevoyage September 1979 Bremerhaven-Tilbury-Le Havre-New York-Le Havre-London-Bremerhaven on board "Mikhail Lermontov"

Announced Line-Voyages for 1980 were cancelled, because soviets invasion of Afghanistan.

In 1979 she made lineyoyages to and from Australia/New Zealand in winter for CTC-Lines, transatlantic service in summer and between cruises from Europe.

Amazing schedules!

Clean modern ship, good food, bargain fares:cool:

Her sister, The Marco Polo for CMV is still sailing, but will be retired after May 2018.

Her sister, The Marco Polo for CMV is still sailing, but will be retired after May 2018.

Apparently according to CMV's website, Marco Polo will be sailing in late 2018 as well. Perhaps it got an extension on life, which is always a wonderful thing for a ship.

It appears the Astoria (ex Stockholm of Andrea Doria fame) got an extension into early 2018 as well.