The Moldaviya ( Russian Молдавия , German Moldova) was a river cruise ship that was built in 1953 in Czechoslovakia in the Narodny Podnik Škoda shipyard in Komárno and belongs to the Rossiya class (project 785 / OL800). The ship bears the name of Moldova , one of the 16 former Soviet republics of the former Soviet Union.
The river cruise ship with two passenger decks was built in 1953 at the Slovak shipyard Narodny Podnik Škoda in Komárno (today Slovenské Lodenice Komárno, at that time part of the Škoda Group ) as a Moldaviya for the shipping company " Wolzhskoje Gruzo-passazhirskoje Parochodstwo " (Volga- Reed -Güter-Passenger) built in Gorky . She belonged to a series of 36 ships of the type Rossiya , which was produced from 1952 to 1958 , which was also known as "Project 785" or "OL800" (Slovak: osobna lod 800 - German: passenger ship 800 hp). The Moldaviya has a diesel-electric drive with two main engines and was used on the Moscow - Rostov-on-Don routes from 1954 to 1962 and 1975 to 1991 and between Tobolsk - Salekhard from 1962 to 1975. After the collapse of the Soviet Union , the ship was sold in 1992 to the Turkish company "Kyiy Tur", which wanted to operate the watercraft as a swimming restaurant. Although the river cruise ship was not approved for sailing on the Black Sea , the new owner decided to go to Trabzon independently , where the ship served as a hotel. In 1996 it was decided to modernize the Moldaviya . On September 28, 1996, the Moldavija left the port of Trabzon with 11 crew members from different countries on board, under the leadership of the Russian captain Nikolai Suchovitzki. A main engine failed on the sea route to the dock off İnkumi (Bartın Province). While the repairs were being carried out at sea, a 7-8 force storm occurred. After the anchor was raised and turned, the Moldaviya was run over by a wave and capsized. The capsized ship were found the next day, Sunday morning. Only four men of the crew, including the Russian Grigori Kublow, were rescued, although all crew members were wearing life jackets.
