View source for MV Mekhanik Tarasov

{{Short description|Soviet cargo ship}}
'''MV ''Mekhanik Tarasov''''' was a Soviet Union-flagged cargo ship that was in service from 1976 until her sinking in 1982 in the [[Atlantic Ocean|North Atlantic Ocean]].

''Mekhanik Tarasov'' was built by the Hollming shipyard of [[Rauma, Finland|Rauma]], Finland.<ref name="msi">{{csr|register=msi|id=7413517|shipname=Mekhanik Tarasov|accessdate=24 October 2020}}</ref>  She was laid down on 24 October 1975 and launched on 20 February 1976, and was delivered on 22 October 1976.<Ref name="msi"/>  She measured {{convert|123.7|m|ft}} long, with a beam of {{convert|19.6|m|ft}}, and had a service speed of {{convert|16.5|kn|kph}} from a single diesel-powered propeller.<Ref name="msi"/>  She had a [[gross tonnage]] of 4,262 GT and a [[deadweight tonnage]] of 5,306 DWT.<ref name="msi"/>
[[File:Мемориал морякам теплохода "Механик Тарасов".JPG|thumb|right|The memorial in the [[Serafimovskoe Cemetery]], [[Saint Petersburg]], to those who lost their lives in the sinking]]
In February 1982, ''Mekhanik Tarasov'' was sailing eastbound from [[Montreal]] to [[Leningrad]] with a mixed cargo of [[shipping container|containers]] and about {{convert|2500|t|kg}} of [[newsprint]] when she encountered a severe storm.<Ref name="msi"/><ref name="macleans">{{cite web | url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1982/3/1/the-cruel-sea | title=The Cruel Sea | publisher=Maclean's | date=1 March 1982 | accessdate=23 October 2020}}</ref>  On the afternoon of 15 February, containers shifted in the heavy seas and punctured a ballast tank, causing the ship to list.<ref name="upi2">{{cite web | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/02/22/The-master-of-the-Soviet-freighter-that-sank-off/9209383202000/ | title=The master of the Soviet freighter that sank off... | publisher=United Press International | date=22 February 1982 | accessdate=23 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="macleans"/>  During the afternoon, with the list reaching 30 degrees, the crew contacted the ship's shore agents requesting help before then declining assistance later in the evening from the Faroese [[longline fishing]] ship ''Sigurfari''.<ref name="macleans"/><ref name="upi1">{{cite web | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/02/17/The-body-of-an-oil-worker-who-drowned-in/7945382770000/ | title=The body of an oil worker who drowned in... | publisher=United Press International | date=17 February 1982 | accessdate=23 October 2020}}</ref> Shortly before midnight, the crew reported flooding, apparently caused by a damaged ventilation cowl that allowed water ingress into the ship.<ref name="macleans"/><ref name="upi2"/>  She sank early in the morning of 16 February about {{convert|240|mi|km}} east of Newfoundland, with only five crewmembers rescued by ''Sigurfari''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1982/02/16/246946.html?pageNumber=8 | title=Soviet Ship in Trouble Off the Canadian Coast | work=The New York Times | date=16 February 1982 | accessdate=23 October 2020}}</ref>  The survivors were transferred to the [[Canadian Coast Guard]] icebreaker [[CCGS Sir Humphrey Gilbert|''Sir Humphrey Gilbert'']]; the ''Sigurfari'', along with the Soviet vessel ''Ivan Dvorsky'', located 21 bodies from the crew of ''Mekhanik Tarasov''.<ref name="upi1"/>  The remaining 12 members of the 37-person crew were never found, and the search was called off on 19 February.<ref name="upi2"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{1982 shipwrecks}}

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[[Category:Merchant ships of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:1976 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1982]]
[[Category:Ships built in Rauma, Finland]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]