Bulgaria (ship)
![]() | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
The Bulgaria (Russian: Булгария) was a Russia-type (785, OL800) Soviet/Russian river cruise ship which operated in the Volga-Don basin. On 10 July 2011, Bulgaria sank in the Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga river near Syukeyevo, Kamsko-Ustyinsky District, Tatarstan, Russia, with 180 passengers and crew aboard when sailing from the town of Bolgar to the regional capital, Kazan. The catastrophe led to one confirmed death, with 102 missing.[1] 78 were rescued by the cruise ship Arabella.[2] The ship sank at 20 m deep, 3 km from the shore.
Bulgaria's home port was Perm. The ship was built at Slovenské Lodenice in Komárno, Czechoslovakia in 1955 as Ukraine and was named after the Volga Bulgaria in February 2010. Her length was 80.2 metres (263 ft), her beam was 14 metres (46 ft), her draft was 1.9 metres (6.2 ft), and her power output was 273 kilowatts (366 hp). She had two engines and two decks. Her cruising speed was 20.5 km/h, and her passenger capacity was 233.[3]