Vessel Sinks on the Black Sea

[AvHdB]

A Ukraine vessel (MV Arvin) transporting goods from Batumi (Georgia) to Bulgaria diverted because of rough seas to Turkey. It did not make it, some of the crew of Russian and Ukrainian seamen are missing.

Below is a video showing a vessel stranding in the same weather. While the seas seem mild they are in fact averaging 4 meters with perhaps a 4 to 5 meter fetch.

The actual vessel breaking apart video I can not find, amazing though like breaking an Coca Cola soda can apart. The vessels above are different vessels.

Below is after the fact.

[Manny]

A Ukrainian vessel going from Georgia to Bulgaria you'd not expect to be of the highest calibre. I doubt anyone was paying too much attention to safety and maintenance.

[AvHdB]

A Ukrainian vessel going from Georgia to Bulgaria you'd not expect to be of the highest calibre. I doubt anyone was paying too much attention to safety and maintenance.

In fact it is not the maintenance or safety, but rather the design of the vessel. Long and narrow the seas eventually broke the vessel in half, and it folded up like an aluminium coke can.

Most of the canal vessels that you see on the Rhine (Rijn) rarely venture out on the North Sea.

[andrewfi]

A Ukrainian vessel going from Georgia to Bulgaria you'd not expect to be of the highest calibre. I doubt anyone was paying too much attention to safety and maintenance.

In fact it is not the maintenance or safety, but rather the design of the vessel. Long and narrow the seas eventually broke the vessel in half, and it folded up like an aluminium coke can.

Most of the canal vessels that you see on the Rhine (Rijn) rarely venture out on the North Sea.

Was the vessel not designed for navigation on the Black Sea? Was it a canal vessel?

[AvHdB]

A Ukrainian vessel going from Georgia to Bulgaria you'd not expect to be of the highest calibre. I doubt anyone was paying too much attention to safety and maintenance.

In fact it is not the maintenance or safety, but rather the design of the vessel. Long and narrow the seas eventually broke the vessel in half, and it folded up like an aluminium coke can.

Most of the canal vessels that you see on the Rhine (Rijn) rarely venture out on the North Sea.

Was the vessel not designed for navigation on the Black Sea? Was it a canal vessel?

Not really. Yes it appears to be narrow and low. The MV Arvin is the vessel in the bottom image. If 'you pick your weather' than it is okay. The Black sea like Lake Michigan has a reputation of turning ugly rather fast.

[AvHdB]

Yes it is clear the vessel was not designed for the conditions she encountered. The vessel is operating at a reduced speed.  Worth noting the radio operator (I suspect Captain) is simply put incompetent.

[Markje]

Yes it is clear the vessel was not designed for the conditions she encountered. The vessel is operating at a reduced speed.  Worth noting the radio operator (I suspect Captain) is simply put incompetent.

I am not a ship-captain and know nothing of sailing, but I would never run a long narrow ship into the waves like that. thats begging for disaster.

[Texan77]

This vessel was unsound and should not of been at sea. Sometime they rust and it is just covered up rather than replace steel panels. This bow section was likely flexing for sometime until the metal fatigued cause it to give way. Most likely this is a wide angle lens and the ship is not really that long compared to it width.  This was not an abnormally rough day. The waves are not white capping and were not overly steep.  This most likely is another sign of corruption getting some to sign off on the ship being sea worthy when it was no where near that.

[AvHdB]

This vessel was unsound and should not of been at sea. Sometime they rust and it is just covered up rather than replace steel panels. This bow section was likely flexing for sometime until the metal fatigued cause it to give way. Most likely this is a wide angle lens and the ship is not really that long compared to it width.  This was not an abnormally rough day. The waves are not white capping and were not overly steep.  This most likely is another sign of corruption getting some to sign off on the ship being sea worthy when it was no where near that.

There are a number of assumptions that will be difficult to prove and other statements that are wrong.

Here as far as I can find are the facts. The M/V Arvin registered in Palau was built in the Soviet Union in 1975. She was 114 meters LOA and 14 meters in beam (thus LONG AND NARROW) she was designed for inland waterways. But if one chooses your weather passages on the Black Sea are possible. In the video, the bridge looked to be in good order. An inspection if Georgia found deficiencies in the state of the ship, in particular her hatches last year. She was transporting dry fertilizer. The weather conditions seemed to be force 6 or low 7 on the Beaufort Scale the seas were 4 to 5 meters, but a greater fetch than I initially indicated. There is some dispute to the fact she was at anchour I doubt it, she is making headway it seems. Anchoured though would dramatically increase the stress (flexing) on the hull.

Simply stated she was not designed for the conditions she encountered.

In one of the videos there is a comment that it is insurance fraud, though I doubt it. Bad timing with bad luck.

[AvHdB]

Another vessel on the 11th of March bites the bottom (sinks). This time off the Romanian coast. The Captain and another crew member are dead, and a third missing. A common thread in the reports was the conditions "sea state" were awful, dreadful or horrendous. This Volgo Balt seems to be in the same class, but perhaps a bit beamier (wider) than the Arkan vessel up thread.

[AvHdB]

I meant to write MV Arvin not Arkan.