David Burghardt

By now most people are aware of the river cruise boat with more than 200 passengers on board that capsized on the Volga River on Sunday. I’ve been on these types of boats several times and I’d like to take you on board and share what the people most likely encountered when the ship went down…

I’d like to give you a quick rundown of what this particular tragedy was before moving into more details of what people most likely experienced when their vacation suddenly came to an end. I wasn’t on the Bulgaria when it sank, but know these boats quite well. I am not an expert, though I worked for years on a river boat (the Sternwheeler “Columbia Gorge’) on the Columbia River between the states of Oregon and Washington and what I’m about to tell is by no means an expert investigation into this tragedy. This is by no means fiction, the information has been taken from news sources and eyewitnesses and put into a style that is perhaps easier to comprehend.

The Bulgaria is an 80-meter (a little over 260 ft.) double-deck river cruise boat with cabins, restaurants, bars and cafes, so it’s not one of those river ferries where everyone stands out on the deck and enjoys the scenery. Trips along the Volga River, on this particular cruise, cost a little over $100 per person for a five-day trip. This is usually a family vacation for those who can’t afford to travel abroad or find it difficult to do so because of health or age. The Volga is a beautiful river and the cruise makes several stops at historic villages along the way with planned excursions and entertainment. These ships have a very low keel and can beach on the banks of the river, dropping a ramp from the side of the boat right onto dry land for passengers to disembark.

On Sunday, as the ship was around four hours away from its destination of Kazan, it was located in one of the widest parts of the Volga River, almost two miles from the banks in deep water. When the Bulgaria left the previous port, witnesses noticed that the ship was listing to starboard (right), though some navigation experts say this could be due to the fact that the ship was carrying little fuel on the port side and the starboard side houses the sewage containers, which would have been pretty heavy after five days on the river. They say the listing should not have been a problem; however, the vessel was traveling under one engine as the second had died along the way, thus making the ship less maneuverable.

Time of the accident

During lunchtime, the Bulgaria was in one of the widest parts of the Volga traveling towards the city of Kazan. There were pretty gusty winds, heavy rain and waves of about three feet high as the ship sailed on course. As the cruise ship was listing and only operating on one engine, the captain would have found it difficult to maneuver the large vessel in stormy weather. The most likely event that led to the tragedy was a combination of a gust or gusts of high winds, the slamming of large waves and the captain’s inability to turn the ship into the waves. Instead both waves and wind slammed against the side of the ship tilting the flat-bottomed ship ever further towards the listing starboard until gravity took over, laying the ship on its side and then fully capsizing just after 1:00 p.m. after most passengers had finished their lunch.

The Bulgaria by deck

The upper deck of the cruise ship is open space with lounge chairs and tables to sit and chat while taking in the sights along the Volga River. It’s usually pretty crowded if weather permits, with people basking in the sun, breathing fresh air and watching kids run around the deck. The wheelhouse and captain are also on this deck, slightly elevated over the deck. The lifeboats are located on this deck. 

Just under the sundeck is the upper level of accommodations on board, with approximately 30 cabins with one or two beds. In the aft of this deck is a large bar, on the bow there is a large music room also used as a play room to entertain children.

The lowest deck is water level. This is usually where guests embark and disembark from the vessel when it’s in port. The main dining hall and kitchen is in the aft of the ship, and as you move toward the bow, you go by several cabins with double-berths for four people, like bunkbeds, the registration and information desk, several sitting areas along the way where you can look out the windows, and finally ending with a bar on the bow.

Down the center of the first and second decks is a narrow corridor running between the cabins, where if two people pass, one will have to turn sideways to allow the other to pass by. To move from one deck to another, there are spiral staircases inside the ship, usually one at each end.

There is one more deck below the waterline, which is for the crew, and houses their quarters (4 in each cabin), storage areas, and the engine room.

A rough scenario of what may have happened right after lunch

As the captain attempts to turn the ship so that it sails head-on into the waves, a gust of wind pushes it further to its side, waves slam into the hull, gusts of wind continue pushing the listing ship to its side, it rolls slowly or quickly and finally capsizes. The captain and his crew on the captain’s deck are thrown from the wheel and other instruments, crashing against the bulkhead and are submerged in the water. Though it’s doubtful that anyone else was on the sundeck because of the nasty weather, they would have slid along the deck and finally been flung into the water.

After a good lunch, Russians enjoy a good cup of tea or coffee. Some remain in the restaurant on the lower deck sipping tea along with others who may just be finishing their lunch. Others have moved on to one of the two bars on the lower or upper deck to have their tea or perhaps something stronger like a beer. Still others would return to their cabins with their families to sit comfortably and look out their portholes at the scenery. And still others may find a comfy place with a couch along one of the bulkheads of the ship.

In the bow on the upper deck, between 30 and 50 children have gathered in the music hall. They are most likely watching a cartoon or actively involved in some planned entertainment for them, while their parents return to their cabins to rest a bit from their children.  

Much of the crew is at work, some are in the galley washing the dishes from lunch or doing prep work for dinner, the bartenders are pouring beverages, the desk clerks are giving information to guests of what to see in the next city, one or two crewmembers are entertaining the children, others are cleaning or polishing brass. The night watch is just probably waking up in their cabins below deck, while others may be just preparing to take a nap before reaching Kazan.

 
The last moments

According to eyewitness reports, the ship capsized and sank in less than three minutes.

As the ship rolls, the power goes off, people in the restaurants and bars are thrown to the bulkhead, chairs, tables glassware, bottles, carts, couches, and other things crash into them, the boat continues to roll until everyone and everything is now on what used to be the ceiling. Complete chaos in these areas erupts and the large windows explode, filling the large rooms with water that goes crashing through the narrow corridors, carrying everything and everyone with it.

Those in their cabins have a similar experience. Some of the portholes are faulty and don’t shut tightly, flying open and filling the cabin with water. In the meantime, passengers try for the door to escape, the handle is now above their head and water rushes in from the porthole. Where the portholes aren’t faulty, people are finally able to open their cabin door if the key was hanging in the lock. If the key isn’t in the lock, the door won’t open and they must frantically search for the key. However, once the door is opened, a gush of water pours in and sucks them out of the cabin. Some were able to put on life vests that are stored in each cabin, others were too late in doing so. Family members try to hold on to small children and infants so they are not sucked out of their arms by the huge water pressure. In one eyewitness report, a young couple with a 14-month-old baby were together, she handed her daughter to her husband right before she was washed out of the ship, the father grabbed the toddler, set her down for a split second, broke a window and snatched the child by one leg and swam out of the ship. The family was later reunited on a floatation device minutes later but the anguish of the unknown as they were separated was horrendous.

Meanwhile in the bow of the second deck, the large group of children has been tossed around like in a washing machine full of socks, furniture and perhaps a piano rolling with the pitch of the capsizing ship. None of them have on life vests, none understands what’s happening; there are most likely very few adults with them.

Some passengers are able to go up or down the upside down spiral staircases, feeling their way towards a broken window or other way out of the ship as it is quickly being swallowed by the Volga River. Many retired people and small children are just flailing in the rapid waters gushing through the narrow corridors.

The ship’s crew was able to release only a couple of large flotation devices, everything went too quickly.

The Bulgaria is gone, survivors wait for rescue

In all, 79 passengers out of 205 survived the tragic shipwreck. They gathered close together on the flotation devices and waited for help. They didn’t know, however, that the crew was unable to send an SOS before the power failed and the only remaining engine died.

A tug with a barge was spotted on the river and a female survivor took off her shirt and it was tied to an oar and raised to signal for help. The tug continued its course. A few minutes later an oil transport vessel passed the floating survivors, but they also went unnoticed. It was only an hour and a half later that another cruise ship, the Arabella, noticed the survivors and came to rescue them and bring them on board. A group of doctors, who happened to be vacationing on the Arabella, worked side by side with the passengers to pull the survivors on to the ship and give them dry blankets and clothes, trying to soothe them as best they could. The doctors immediately began working with those who were injured in the catastrophe.

Entire families or members of families were lost in this boat accident, many of them small children. Many mistakes were made before and during the time the ship began sinking. More mistakes were made after the ship sank. This is an extremely sad moment in Russia and July 12 was made a national day of mourning. My thoughts and condolences are with those who lost their families in what should have been a wonderful vacation.