The Volgo-Balt 199 was a river seagoing ship of the Volgo-Balt series, which was built in 1976 at the Slovenske Lodenice shipyard in Komárno in Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia ) for the Belomorsko-Oneschskoje Parohodstwo in Leningrad . It was completed on December 21, 1976. Until 2006, the ship was operated under the same name in Cyrillic script under the Soviet, Russian and Grusin flag. After the change of flag, the ship got the name in Latin letters.
Downfall
The Volgo-Balt 199 got into distress in a storm in the Black Sea on December 4, 2012 . Around 7.30 a.m., the ship loaded with coal on its way to Antalya emitted an SOS signal, which was intercepted by the Turkish coast guard. A little later, the ship sank off Şile northeast of Istanbul . Three of the twelve crew members were rescued. During the search, one of the Turkish lifeboats hit a rock and three rescuers were killed in an accident.