The F. Engels ( Russian Ф. Энгельс ) was a river cruise ship that was built in June 1956 in the GDR at the VEB Mathias-Thesen-Werft in Wismar and belongs to the Rodina class , Project 588, (in Wismar, however, Project-Tschkalow , after the first ship of the series, called), German designation BiFa type A (inland passenger ship type A), belonged.
The river cruise ship with three passenger decks was built in June 1956 for the Volschskoje Objedinjonnoje Rechnoje Parochodstvo ( United Volga River Shipping Company ) in Gorky . It belongs to a series of 49 Rodina-class ships manufactured between 1954 and 1961 . The ship has a diesel-electric drive with three main engines. The ship was named after the German philosopher , social theorist , historian , journalist and communist revolutionary Friedrich Engels . 1956–1964 the ship was used on the Gorki - Astrakhan route. After the opening of new locks on the Volga-Baltic Sea Canal , F. Engels was operated from Leningrad within two years . Since the city on the Neva already had its own huge fleet, the ship was returned to Kalinin on the Volga . From Kalinin, F. Engels drove the lines to Leningrad and Astrakhan until it was opened in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union . Then the ship made the first voyages in 1997 and 1998 from Nizhny Novgorod and 2000-2003 the ship was sold out. 2003, mainly winter outbreak on the Volga decided Volga-Flot-Tur and Volga Shipping Company , the F. Engels after the East Prussian Kaliningrad to sell. During the transfer from Saint Petersburg to Kaliningrad, the ship sank in the Baltic Sea shortly before the end of the transfer 20 nautical miles from Kaliningrad. In November 2003 the ship lying at a depth of 100 meters was removed from the ship register. The valuable items are recovered from the sunken river cruise ship and offered in auctions.
Furnishing
There were two restaurants on board, a bar, reading room and music salon.
