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Soviet Shipping

 

Page 1: Soviet Built Ships

 

This page is still under construction!

 

This page is one of a series devoted to passenger ship postcards of the Soviet Union. This page shows ships built within the Soviet Bloc and its satellites. An alphabetical list of ships shown on this page is shown below. The Table beneath gives links to complete postcard history pages on selected individual ships. Below the table are official postcards of the fleet, also in alphabetical order.

 

 

Ships on This Page:-

Aleksandr Pushkin (Black Sea Shipping Co: 1966-1992)

Baltika (1957-1986) - ex-Vyasheslav Molotov

Bukovina (1962-19??)

Dmitriy Shostakovich (Black Sea Shipping Co: 1980-1996)

Estonia (19??-19??)

Georg Ots (Estonian Shipping Co: 1980-1993)

Kareliya (1976-1982, 1988-1998) - later Leonid Brezhnev

Konstantin Chernenko (Far Eastern Shipping Co: 1986-1988)

Konstantin Simonov (Baltic Shipping Co: 1981-1996)

Leonid Brezhnev (1982-1988) - ex-Kareliya - later Kareliya

Lev Tolstoy (Black Sea Shipping Co: 1981-1995)

Mikhail Lermontov (Baltic Shipping Co: 1972-1986)

Mikhail Sholokov (Far Eastern Shipping Co: 1981-1996)

Mikhail Suslov (Baltic Shipping Co: 1981-1996)

Sholta Rustaveli (Black Sea Shipping Co: 1968-1986)

Taras Shevchenko (Baltic Shipping Co: 1967-2004)

Vyasheslav Molotov (1940-1957) - later: Baltika

 

Ship Classes on This Page:-

Ivan Franko Class - Ivan Franko (1964) - Aleksandr Pushkin (1966) - Taras Shevchenko (1967) - Sholta Rustaveli (1968) - Mikhail Lermontov (1972)

Belorussiya Class - Belorussiya (1975) - Gruziya (1975) - Azerbaydzhan (1975) - Kazakhstan (1976) - Kareliya (1976)

Dmitriy Shostakovich Class - Dmitriy Shostakovich (1980) - Georg Ots (1980) - Lev Tolstoy (1981) - Konstantin Simonov (1982) - Mikhail Suslov (1982) - Konstantin Chernenko (1986) - Mikhail Sholokov (1986)

 

Soviet Web Pages:-

Soviet Header Page

Soviet Page 1: Soviet Built Ships - vessels built within the Soviet Bloc & satellites

Soviet Page 2: Acquired Ships - vessels acquired by the Soviet Bloc before 1948

Soviet Page 3: Purchased Ships - vessels purchased by the Soviet Bloc after 1948

 

Associated Pages:-

Orient Line (NCL/Star)

Cruise Ship Postcards

Ocean Liner Postcards

Simplon Postcards Home Page

 

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Table of Ship Histories

Name	Other names	Built
Aleksandr Pushkin	Marko Polo	1956
Baltika	Vyasheslav Molotov	1940
Dmitriy Shostakovich	Paloma, Paloma I	1980
Georg Ots		1980
Konstantin Simonov	Francesca, The Iris	1982
Konstantin Chernenko	Russ	1986
Lev Tolstoy	Natasha, Palmira, The Jasmine, Farah	1981
Mikhail Sholokov	Mikhail, Ugo Foscolo	1986
Mikhail Suslov	Pyotr Pervyy, Ocean Empress, Ocean Jewel of St Petersburg	1982
Pyotr Pervyy	Mikhail Suslov, Ocean Empress, Ocean Jewel of St Petersburg	1982
Russ	Konstantin Chernenko	1986
Vyasheslav Molotov	Baltika	1940

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soviet Fleet List

 

 

 

Vyasheslav Molotov (1940-1957)

Baltica (1957-1986)

 

Baltika was built as the Vyasheslav Molotov in 1940. She was 7494 gross tons and 445 feet long. She was powered by twin screw turbo-electric machinery, originally giving a speed of 20 knots, but latterly just 15 knots. Vyasheslav Molotov was renamed Baltika in 1957.

 

The Soviet Russians ran a service from Leningrad to Helsinki, Stockholm and London for some years before the Second World War, using small motorships which could only maintain about 12 knots. In 1938 they ordered two much-improved vessels to upgrade the service. Local yards were unable to produce such ships, so the order went to Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij (Netherlands Shipbuilding Company) of Amsterdam. Whilst part of the vast state Sovtorgflot, they were allocated to the Baltic Shipping Company of Leningrad for the new express service.

 

The first sister was the Josef Stalin, followed by the Vyasheslav Molotov (Soviet Foreign Minister). They were fast ships, achieving 22 knots on trials. Despite their Marxist ownership, passenger accommodation was arranged in first, second, third and tourist classes, giving a total of 437 for many years. Both sisters were delivered to their owners before the German invasion of Holland in 1940. Josef Stalin hit a mine off Finland in December 1941. She was run aground in German-controlled territory, but found to be beyond repair. Vyasheslav Molotov was also mined in 1941, but was repaired, although her wartime use is not recorded. By 1945 she was in Kronstadt naval base near Leningrad. It was announced that she would run to New York via Liverpool in October 1945, but it seems she was unready and she spent some time in both Liverpool and Amsterdam being refitted. However, she returned to service not on her designed route, but in the Black Sea where she remained until 1950. She then moved even further away, working in the Far East from Vladivostok. She returned to the Black Sea in 1955, before finally taking up her designed route from Leningrad to London, where she handled cargo in the Surrey Commercial Docks. Passengers were dealt with at Tilbury. A round trip took 16 days, including four or five days in London, and usually calling at Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki. In later years, the Copenhagen and Stockholm calls were usually omitted. She was renamed Baltika when Molotov lost his government post in July 1957.

 

In 1960, she carried Kruschev to New York for his famous belligerent United Nations speech. She also visited Cuba a number of times, and returning from there in 1973 she run onto rocks in Bermuda at full speed. All foreign assistance was refused and Soviet freighters stood by, although passengers remained on board. Eventually, a US Navy barge was allowed to remove most of the fuel. She floated free and continued under her own power. In the mid-1960s she made a number of cruises for western passengers. The Leningrad-London service was in decline, but a reducing number of sailings were still run each year until the mid-1980s. Her final fling was a number of London visits in 1986 (images below), before being scrapped in Pakistan the following year.

 

Complete history of Baltika

 

 

 

Official art postcard of Baltika

Scan: Dimas Almada

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Official art postcard of Baltika

Scan: Dimas Almada

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Official art postcard of Baltika

Scan: Dimas Almada

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Official postcard of Baltika

Scan: Dimas Almada

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Photograph of Baltika leaving Tilbury in 1986.

Photo: © Ian Boyle.

 

Photograph of Baltika leaving Tilbury in 1986.

Photo: © Ian Boyle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bukovina (1962)

 

Postcard of Bukovina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Estonia - 19--

 

Postcard of Estonia at Bremerhaven

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ivan Franko Class

 

 

Ivan Franko

(Black Sea Shipping Co: 1964-1997)

 

 

 

Aleksandr Pushkin

(Black Sea Shipping Co: 1966-1985)

(Far Eastern Shipping Co: 1985-1991)

 

The Soviet liner Aleksandr Pushkin was launched at V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft Shipyard in East Germany in 1964 and entered service with the Baltic Shipping Company between Leningrad and Montreal in 1966, a service she maintained in the summer months, whilst cruising in the winters. She became a full-time cruise ship in 1975. Between 1981-1985 Aleksandr Pushkin was chartered to Transocean Tours, after which she was transferred to the Far Eastern Shipping Company, with occasional charters to UK-based CTC. Aleksandr Pushkin was laid up in Singapore in 1990, but was bought a year later by Gerry Herrod, who had just sold his Ocean Cruise Lines to Paquet. Aleksandr Pushkin was renamed Marco Polo and began a lengthy rebuilding period. Marco Polo re-entered service with Orient Lines in 1993 on varied programme of cruises around the world. Orient Lines considered purchasing her sister Ivan Franko in 1991, but the increasing cost of the Marco Polo rebuilding deterred them. In 1998, Orient Lines was acquired by Norwegian Cruise Line, who retained the Orient Lines brand. The line was discontinued in March 2008 after Marco Polo was sold to Transocean Tours, who had used her between 1981-1985. They have retained her name and she entered service in 2008 initially on a series of UK-based cruise from Tilbury between 10 April and 19 August 2008.

 

Complete history of Aleksandr Pushkin

 

 

Postcard of Aleksandr Pushkin.

 

 

Postcard of Aleksandr Pushkin.

 

 

Official postcard of Aleksandr Pushkin

Scan: Ken Murayama

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Official postcard of Aleksandr Pushkin

Scan: Ken Murayama

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Official calendar showing Aleksandr Pushkin

Scan: Ken Murayama

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Official postcard of Aleksandr Pushkin

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Official postcard of Aleksandr Pushkin

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CT postcard of Aleksandr Pushkin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taras Shevchenko

(Baltic Shipping Co: 1966-2004)

 

Postcard of Taras Shevchenko.

 

 

Postcard of Taras Shevchenko.

 

 

Photo of Taras Shevchenko.

Photo: Wil Moojen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sholta Rustaveli

(Black Sea Shipping Co: 1968-1986)

 

Postcard of Shota Rustaveli

Scan: Ivo Batricevic

 

 

Shota Rustaveli as Assedo

Photo: © W.Kruit, Amsterdam, 21st August 2003

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Shota Rustaveli as Assedo

Photo: © W.Kruit, Amsterdam, 21st August 2003

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Shota Rustaveli as Assedo

Photo: © W.Kruit, Amsterdam, 21st August 2003

 

 

Shota Rustaveli as Assedo

Photo: © W.Kruit, Amsterdam, 21st August 2003

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Mikhail Lermontov

(Baltic Shipping Co: 1972-1986)

 

Postcard of Mikhail Lermontov

 

 

Postcard of Mikhail Lermontov

 

 

 

 

 

Belorussiya Class

 

Kareliya (1976-1982)

Leonid Brezhnev (1982-1988)

Kareliya (1988-1998)

 

Postcard of Leonid Brezhnev.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dmitriy Shostakovich Class

 

 

Dmitriy Shostakovich

(Black Sea Shipping: 1980-1996)

 

Dmitriy Shostakovich was built in 1980, the first of a series of seven similar ships in the Dmitriy Shostakovich Class used by theSoviet shipping companies as ferries and passenger/cruise ships. She was built by Stocznia Szczecinska at Szczecin (Poland) for the Black Sea Shipping Company. Following the collapse of that company in 1996, she had a number of owners. In 2000 she was bought by Macro Maritime, and traded as Paloma for Columbus Leisure Line. In 2003 she was bought by the Italian company D&P Cruises, and renamed Paloma I. D&P Cruises sold her in 2007 for use as the gambling ship Royale Star in Singapore.

 

Complete history of Dmitriy Shostakovich

 

 

Official postcard of Dmitriy Shostakovich

Card is titled Dmitriy Shostakovich, but inspecion with magnifier shows ship to be Konstantin Simonov

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Official postcard of Dmitriy Shostakovich

Card is titled Dmitriy Shostakovich, but inspecion with magnifier shows ship to be Konstantin Simonov

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Official postcard of Dmitriy Shostakovich

Card is titled Dmitriy Shostakovich, but inspecion with magnifier shows ship to be Konstantin Simonov

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Official postcard of Dmitriy Shostakovich

Card is titled Dmitriy Shostakovich, but inspecion with magnifier shows ship to be Konstantin Simonov

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Georg Ots

(ESCO: 1980-1993)

 

Georg Ots was built in 1980, the second in a series of seven similar ships in the Dmitriy Shostakovich Class used by the Soviet shipping companies as ferries and passenger/cruise ships. Georg Ots was owned by the Estonian Shipping Company (ESCO) and ran between Helsinki and Tallinn. From 1993 she was chartered to Tallink, which was 45% owned by ESCO at this time. She was withdrawn from the Helsinki-Tallin route in December 2000. Between 2002 and 2003 she ran between St Petersburg and Kaliningrad for St Petersburg Shipping.

 

Complete history of Georg Ots

 

 

Official Estonian Shipping Company card of Georg Ots.

 

 

Official Estonian Shipping Company card of Georg Ots.

 

 

Official Estonian Shipping Company card of Georg Ots.

 

 

Official Estonian Shipping Company card of Georg Ots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lev Tolstoy

(BLASCO: 1981-1995)

 

Lev Tolstoy was built in 1981, one of a series of seven similar ships in the Dmitriy Shostakovich Class used by the Soviet shipping companies as ferries and passenger/cruise ships. Lev Tolstoy received a major rebuild in 1986 in Germany and was chartered to German operator Transocean Tours. In 1988 she was renamed Natasha and then Palmira for further German charters. She passed to Mano Cruise in 2001 as The Jasmine. The Jasmine was sold in August 2006 and was renamed Farah, believed for trading in the Far East.

 

Complete history of Lev Tolstoy

 

 

Official BLASCO postcard of Lev Tolstoy.

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Official BLASCO postcard of Lev Tolstoy.

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Official BLASCO postcard of Lev Tolstoy.

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Duncan photographic postcard of Lev Tolstoy.

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Photograph of Lev Tolstoy in the North Sea Canal

Photo: © Wil Moojen, 14th June 1992

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Konstantin Simonov

(Baltic Shipping: 1981-1996)

 

Konstantin Simonov was built in 1982, one of a series of seven similar ships in the Dmitriy Shostakovich Class used by the Soviet shipping companies as ferries and passenger/cruise ships. Konstantin Simonov ran as a ferry between Leningrad, Riga and Helsinki for the Baltic Shipping Company. In 1992 the route was taken over by Baltic Line, part of the Effjohn Group. In 1996 Konstantin Simonov was renamed Francesca for Australian service, but this fell through and she was laid up in Germany. In 2000 she was acquired by Silver Cruises for operation with Mano Cruise. Mano Cruise's The Jasmine was another of the same series of Soviet ships, previously Lev Tolstoy.

 

Complete history of Konstantin Simonov

 

 

Official postcard of Konstantin Simonov

Card is titled Dmitriy Shostakovich, but inspecion with magnifier shows ship to be Konstantin Simonov

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Official postcard of Konstantin Simonov

Scan: Ivo Batricevic

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mikhail Suslov

(Baltic Shipping: 1981-1996)

 

Mikhail Suslov was built in 1982, one of a series of seven similar ships in the Dmitriy Shostakovich Class used by the Soviet shipping companies as ferries and passenger/cruise ships. Mikhail Suslov entered service with the Black Sea Shipping Company (BLASCO). In 1989 she was renamed Pyotr Pervyy. In 2002 her registered owners were Sovereign Marine of Kingstown under the name Ocean Empress. The following year she operated as a casino ship out of St Petersburg (Florida) as the Ocean Jewel of St Petersburg.

 

Complete history of Mikhail Suslov

 

 

Official FESCO postcard of Mikhail Suslov.

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Chantry Classics postcard of Mikhail Suslov.

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Konstantin Chernenko

(FESCO: 1986-1988)

 

Konstantin Chernenko was built in 1986, one of a series of seven similar ships in the Dmitriy Shostakovich Class used by the Soviet shipping companies as ferries and passenger/cruise ships. Konstantin Chernenko was delivered to the Far Easterb Shipping Company (FESCO) for services from Vladivostok to Japan and South Korea. She was renamed Russ in 1988. In the 1990s she operated on charter with the Pacific Cruise Company, along with Mikhail Sholokov. In 1997, Russ began service from Stockholm to Riga for LS Redereja. She was laid up in Stockholm in 1999. In 2000 Russ operated between Odessa and Haifa, and in 2001 between Russia and Japan.

 

Complete history of Konstantin Chernenko

 

 

Official FESCO postcard of Konstantin Chernenko.

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Mikhail Sholokov

(FESCO: 1981-1996)

 

Mikhail Sholokov was built in 1986, one of a series of seven similar ships in the Dmitriy Shostakovich Class used by the Soviet shipping companies as ferries and passenger/cruise ships. Mikhail Sholokov served with the Far Eastern Shipping Company (FESCO) until 1999 when she was chartered to a Latvian company for service between St Petersburg and Stockholm. The following year 2000 saw her in service with Mono Line between Riga and Stockholm. Mikhail Sholokov was laid up in 2001 in St Petersburg and returned to the Far East in 2002 for a service from Vladivostock to Fuskiki. In 2004 Mikhail Sholokov was sold to Greek company ANEZ and renamed Ugo Foscolo (after a temporary delivery name of Mikhail). She was registered in Cambodia, but appears not to have seen service since, being laid up in Zakynthos.

 

Complete history of Mikhail Sholokov

 

 

Official FESCO postcard of Mikhail Sholokov.

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Official FESCO postcard of Mikhail Sholokov.

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