Collision of the ship with the Kerch bridge. A criminal case has been opened for damaging a bridge support in the Kerch Strait

There are at least two versions of the collision of the Turkish cargo ship Lira with the pillars of the Kerch Bridge: the inattention of the crew, who ignored the instructions of the dispatcher, or the oversight of Russian officials, who allowed to sail without a pilot. The accident will not affect the construction of the bridge, but the builders are ready to sue the owner of the ship. It has already been delayed.

Causes

The reason for the collision of the Turkish cargo ship Lira with the bridge across the Kerch Strait was the absence of a pilot on the ship, Flash Crimea reports, citing a source familiar with the situation. “Rosmorport earlier decided to allow vessels like the Lira to pass through the Kerch Strait without pilotage. The clash is the result of bureaucratic carelessness,” the source said.

“Who then allowed them on the ship, who allowed them to go to sea?”

Vitaly Efimov, President of the Union of Transport Workers of Russia and First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Transport, called for a thorough understanding of everything first. However, he is already raising questions about the actions of the Turkish crew.

“They were aware - they weren’t aware, you need to look,” he told the VZGLYAD newspaper. – But if they didn’t even realize it, then we are talking about non-professionals. Who then allowed them to board the ship, who allowed them to go to sea? I think that those who made such decisions should be complained about.” The expert also expressed confidence that the collision with the bridge supports would be a good signal for the future for the Russian special authorities. “They will be very attentive to the current history,” he believes.

The second version is that the crew of the Lira dry-cargo ship owned by Turkuaz Shihhing Corp, under the control of the captain - a Turkish citizen, repeatedly ignored the demands of ground services to return to a normal course. Dispatchers of a Turkish dry cargo ship about the danger, as evidenced by the transcript of the negotiations, which was at the disposal of TASS.

Lyra, warning, you are on a dangerous course, change course to port, keep heading 067 deg. Between the buoys,” said the dispatcher of the traffic control service in the Kerch Strait, addressing the captain of the vessel on March 19 at 23.30.

"Lira, change course to the left"; "Lira", captain, you are heading a dangerous course"; "Lira, captain, stop forward, full astern," continued the dispatcher.

But for some reason there was no response from the captain of the Lyra, nor a change in the dangerous course.

Judging by the transcript of the negotiations, the collision of the dry cargo ship with the supports of the bridge under construction occurred at 23.35 on March 19. Two minutes later, the captain reported that "the chief officer is checking" the condition of the ship. Later, the captain of the Pobeda ferry appeared on the air. “We were passing by, a Lira drove between the piles,” he told the dispatcher.

However, according to the head of the Center for Maritime Law Vasily Gutsulyak, such "requirements" of the dispatcher are not mandatory. The final decision is made by the captain, and "he is ultimately responsible for everything that happens to the ship."

“Any instructions from the traffic control service are in fact advisory in nature. Just as in the relationship with the pilot who paves the way, the captain is free to listen to him or make an independent decision,” Gutsulyak explained to the VZGLYAD newspaper.

The expert is sure that the collision with the supports happened by chance, because "there are no kamikaze among the captains." At the same time, he recalled that 90% of all accidents at sea are related to the human factor. Emergencies can be explained by both the low qualification of the crew, the absent navigator, pilot, and natural causes.

The area of the Sea of Azov is considered by sailors to be difficult for navigation. First, there is shallow water. Secondly, the situation is constantly changing: either a complete calm, or a large surge wave, which poses a serious danger. “Under these conditions, it can be difficult to steer a ship and not go astray,” Gutsulyak said.

The Russian border guards have no complaints about the crew - the sailors did not violate international standards. “There are both Russian and Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov, where the Lira was heading, and you can’t get to them from the Black Sea except through the Kerch Strait,” Komsomolskaya Pravda-Crimea was told in the press service of the FSB border department for Crimea.

Consequences

The head of the Center for Maritime Law does not think that criminal prosecution of the participants in the state of emergency will begin. Still, responsibility will lie in the sphere of civil law relations. When the damage is accurately established, the circumstances of the case will become clear, most likely, there will be a court. And in order to ensure the requirements of the injured party, the ship can be arrested, he explained.

According to a TASS source in the maritime services, the dry cargo ship that rammed the supports of the Kerch bridge is already in Taganrog. “On the afternoon of March 20, after receiving an application for the detention of the vessel in connection with the incident, the port staff examined the Lira. Traces of fresh paint are visible on the side - they tried to hide the traces of a collision with a support. The vessel was detained according to maritime regulations for 72 hours. Stands in Taganrog. The ship is old – more than 30 years old,” he said. The source added that the availability of insurance and the possibility of obtaining compensation from the owners of the dry cargo ship for damage to the bridge piers are now being clarified.

At the same time, a TASS source in the insurance market noted that the risks on the Kerch bridge under construction were most likely not insured, so payments from commercial insurers would not follow.

Citing its own sources, LifeNews notes that the damage will be estimated at tens of millions of rubles, and the incident itself will be resolved in court. The restoration of the destroyed support, according to the publication, may take up to several months.

The Crimean Bridge information center told the VZGLYAD newspaper that the incident with the dry cargo ship would not affect the construction of a working bridge in the Kerch Strait. “Moreover, this will not have any impact on the timing of the construction of the main bridge to the Crimea,” they added.

The information center also said that construction and installation work on the bridge does not interfere with navigation. At the same time, all ships passing through the Kerch-Yenikal Canal are informed about the construction work. In addition to the mandatory warning, which has been in effect since last summer, the work area is limited by special navigation signs.

The collision occurred on March 19, but information about the incident appeared only now. As a result, support No. 80 was destroyed. Two lighthouse piles were also destroyed, and supports No. 79 and No. 81 were offset, the Taman Federal Highway Administration told the VZGLYAD newspaper.

In a sense, the builders were lucky. After all, the dry cargo ship is supported not by the bridge that will eventually connect the Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory, but by the auxiliary one, necessary for the construction of the main one. Working bridges are being laid towards each other from the side of Kerch and Tuzla Island in the direction of the fairway.

By the way, there are special hydraulic structures on the Kerch bridge to protect its supports from incidents. These works were planned in accordance with the project by Glavgosexpertiza back in February, so there is no need to talk about the impact of a minor accident on large-scale construction.

Experts called the reasons for the collision of the Turkish cargo ship "Lira" with the support of the bridge under construction in the Kerch Strait. It is noted that there was no pilot on the Turkish vessel and it followed through the strait without proper guidance.

As it became known on Wednesday, the reason for the collision of the Turkuaz Shihhing Corp dry cargo ship with the support of the Kerch bridge was the absence of a pilot on the Turkish vessel. “Rosmorport earlier decided to allow vessels like the Lira to pass through the Kerch Strait without pilotage. The clash is the result of bureaucratic carelessness,” FlashCrimea reports, citing a source familiar with the situation.

It is also noted that the incident with the Turkish ship will not affect the construction of the Kerch bridge in any way. “The incident with the dry cargo ship Lira, as a result of which the support of the working bridge No. 2 in the Kerch Strait was damaged (three piles of support No. 80 of the working bridge were bent), will not affect the course and duration of the construction of this working bridge. Moreover, this will not have any impact on the timing of the construction of the main bridge to the Crimea, ”TASS quotes a message from the Taman Federal Highway Administration, which is the customer for the construction.

Earlier it was reported that on March 19, a Turkish cargo ship collided with a support of a bridge under construction in the Kerch Strait. No one was hurt in the incident. The damage from the collision of the vessel with the structure of the building is estimated at tens of millions of rubles.

Causes

“They were aware - they were not aware, you need to look,” he said. – But if they didn’t even realize it, then we are talking about non-professionals. Who then allowed them to board the ship, who allowed them to go to sea? I think that those who made such decisions should be complained about.” The expert also expressed confidence that the collision with the bridge supports would be a good signal for the future for the Russian special authorities. “They will be very attentive to the current history,” he believes.

The second version is that the crew of the Lira dry-cargo ship, owned by Turkuaz Shihhing Corp, under the command of the captain, a Turkish citizen, repeatedly ignored the demands of ground services to return to a normal course. Dispatchers warned the Turkish cargo ship of the danger, as evidenced by the transcript of the negotiations, which was at the disposal of TASS.

Judging by the transcript of the negotiations, the collision of the cargo ship with the supports of the bridge under construction occurred at 23:35 on March 19. Two minutes later, the captain reported that "the chief officer is checking" the condition of the vessel. Later, the captain of the Pobeda ferry appeared on the air. “We were passing by, “Lira drove between the piles,” he said to the dispatcher.

However, according to Head of the Maritime Law Center Vasily Gutsulyak, such "requirements" of the dispatcher are not mandatory. The final decision is made by the captain, and "everything that happens to the ship is ultimately the responsibility of the captain."

“Any instructions from the traffic control service are in fact advisory in nature. As well as in the relationship with the pilot who paves the way, the captain is free to listen to him or make an independent decision,” Gutsulyak explained.

The expert is sure that the collision with the supports was accidental, because "there are no kamikazes among the captains." At the same time, he recalled that 90% of all accidents at sea are related to the human factor. Emergencies can be explained by both the low qualification of the crew, the absent navigator, pilot, and natural causes.

The Russian border guards have no complaints about the crew - the sailors did not violate international standards. “In the Sea of Azov, where the Lira was heading, there are both Russian and Ukrainian ports, and you can’t get to them from the Black Sea except through the Kerch Strait,” Komsomolskaya Pravda-Crimea was told in the press service of the FSB border control in Crimea .

Consequences

The head of the Center for Maritime Law does not think that a criminal offense will begin among the participants in the state of emergency. Still, responsibility will lie in the sphere of civil law relations. When the damage is accurately established, the circumstances of the case will become clear, most likely, there will be a court. And in order to ensure the requirements of the injured party, the ship can be arrested, he explained.

According to a TASS source in the maritime services, a dry cargo ship that rammed the supports of the Kerch bridge has already been detained in Taganrog. “On the afternoon of March 20, after receiving an application for the detention of the vessel in connection with the incident, the port staff examined the Lira. Traces of fresh paint are visible on the side - they tried to hide the traces of a collision with a support. The vessel was detained according to maritime regulations for 72 hours. Stands in Taganrog. The ship is old - more than 30 years old," he said. The source added that the availability of insurance and the possibility of obtaining compensation from the owners of the dry cargo ship for damage to the bridge piers are now being clarified.

The information center "Crimean Bridge" reported that the incident with the dry cargo ship will not affect the construction of a working bridge in the Kerch Strait. “Moreover, this will not have any impact on the timing of the construction of the main bridge to the Crimea,” they added.

The collision occurred on March 19, but information about the incident appeared only now. As a result, support No. 80 was destroyed. Also, two lighthouse piles were destroyed, and supports No. 79 and No. 81 have offsets, the Taman Federal Highway Administration said.

In a sense, the builders were lucky. After all, the dry cargo ship crashed into the support not of the bridge that will eventually connect the Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory, but of the auxiliary one necessary for the construction of the main one. Working bridges are being laid towards each other from the side of Kerch and Tuzla Island in the direction of the fairway.

By the way, special hydraulic structures will be erected on the Kerch bridge to protect its supports from incidents. These works are planned in accordance with the project approved by Glavgosexpertiza back in February, so there is no need to talk about the impact of a minor accident on large-scale construction.

A Turkish dry cargo ship, which on the night of March 19-20 collided with the supports of a working bridge under construction in the Kerch Strait, ignored the warnings of the operator of the regional vessel traffic control system (RVTS) about an unacceptable course for seven minutes before the incident. This is evidenced by the decoding of radio communications between the Kerch Strait RCTS and the captain of the Lira dry-cargo ship of Turkuaz Shipping Corp, which sailed under the flag of Panama.

As follows from the transcript, at 23.20 the control system operator transmitted the course for movement along the strait to the ship's captain. At 23.26, the first warning was received from Kerch about the deviation from the designated course and the advice to return to it.

In response, the Turkish captain asks to repeat the message and after that he does not get in touch for 3 minutes.

During this short period of time, the RVTS operator continues to make recommendations.

"Lira", I advise you next time to go with a pilot, you are not ready to go without a pilot

he says.

"Lira", enter the channel, now your position is 70 meters from the red edge, keep the red buoy on the port side "

Finally, the captain of the Turkish dry cargo ship answers, however, the subsequent repeated messages from the operator about the danger of deviation indicate that he did not follow the instructions - he follows his course for more than two minutes, after which he nevertheless agrees

"change course to port"

Half a minute later, the operator commands the captain to give

, after another minute, stop all the machines of the ship.
The captain of the ship allegedly agrees, but the next two minutes does not get in touch.

At 23.37, a question follows from Kerch about the condition of the ship, to which the ship answers that they are checking its condition.

After 7 minutes, the RVTS receives a message from the Pobeda ferry: “

Judging by how we passed by, a "Lira" drove between the piles

source: c-inform.info
Earlier it was reported that the incident in the Kerch Strait did not affect the construction of the bridge to the Crimea. “On March 19, at 23.25, the Lira ship under the flag of Panama, owned by Turkuaz Shipping Corp, while following the Kerch-Yenikalsky Canal, deviated from the recommended route in the area of buoys 21 and 23a, and then piled on the structural elements of the working bridge,” - told TASS a source in the information center "Crimean Bridge".

As a result of a collision with a sea vessel, support No. 80 was destroyed, including piles with a diameter of 1020 mm and a length of 58 meters, crossbars and heads. Separately hammered lighthouse piles were damaged, two more neighboring supports were damaged.

The crew of the ship, consisting of nine people, was not injured, the dry cargo ship was put on a roadstead in the port of Taganrog.

The state contract for the design and construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait was signed on February 17, 2015 between the FKU "Department of federal highways" Taman "of Rosavtodor and Stroygazmontazh LLC. It is planned that construction work will be completed in December 2018, and traffic on the bridge will be opened in working mode. In 2019, after the completion of all commissioning and landscaping of the territory, the bridge is planned to be put into operation.

The Kerch Bridge is being built at the expense of the federal budget within the framework of the Federal Target Program "Socio-economic development of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol until 2020", without attracting extra-budgetary funding. The estimated cost of the project is 211.9 billion rubles in the prices of the fourth quarter of 2015.