A Russian cruise ship has been adrift in the North Atlantic since January 2013, after breaking free from a towing line as it was being delivered from Canada to a scrapyard in the Dominican Republic.
The ship had been a Yugoslav ice-strengthened Maria Yermolova class cruise ship, used mainly for Antarctic tours. MV Lyubov Orlova is one of a number of ‘ghost ships’, unmanned but still afloat at last sighting, the whereabouts of which are now unknown.
The History of Abandoned MV Lyubov Orlova
The Lyubov Orlova was built in 1976, part of a fleet of eight sister ships commissioned by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev as a make-work project for a Yugoslavian port. Lyubov Orlova was named after the Russian film star Lyubov Orlova.
The Lyubov Orlova was originally owned by the Far East Shipping Company, which used it to ferry passengers along the eastern coastline of the Soviet Union, mostly around the Vladivostok region. There were international flights – for example, in 1979, the crew of the vessel participated in the humanitarian expedition to the Campucia after the overthrow of Paul Pota, which sailors were remembered with a shudder.
In the late 90s, the aging “love Orlov” was given to freight, and two years in a row, she drove used foreign cars from Japan. The ship was refurbished in 1999 and chartered by Marine Expeditions for cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula in 2000.
However, problems started in 2006 after it reportedly ran aground during a voyage in Antarctica and had to be towed back. Every tour lasted 8-12 days, and in the offseason, the ship team had to get up for repairs – for the technical condition of the vessel, technicians carefully watched to guarantee safe sailing to customers.
In 2010, she was seized at St. John’s harbor in Newfoundland following a suit by a haulage contractor against the owners over $250,000 in unpaid fees. The MV Lyubov Orlova remained tied up for more than two years before it was sold to Caribbean buyers in February 2012.
The ship condition only continuing to deteriorate, and the ship was designated to be transported to a scrapyard in the Dominican Republic, but on the way to the scrap heap, the tow-line to the tug broke and the ship was lost at sea. Concerned about the risk to local oil and gas operations in the region, Transport Canada sent the 157-tonne constant bollard pull rated supply ship, Atlantic Hawk, under contract by Husk Energy to recapture Lyubov Orlova.
All attempts by the team of the tug “catch” the vessel were not crowned with success. A few days later – January 27, 2013 – the coast guard of Canada due to excitement to the sea ordered the captain of the tug ship to throw a liner and return to St. Jones.
Finding such a ship in the ocean is not easy. Since then, Lyubov Orlova considered sunken, while in February 2013, the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency found a drifer ship from a satellite 700 km from the coast of Ireland. In its efforts to find the cruise ship the Irish Coast Guard combined AIS tracking with radar allowing it to find the lost ship.
But all attempts to locate the MV Lyubov Orlova by the Irish Coast Guard proved unsuccessful. The Russian MV Lyubov Orlova mysteriously disappeared from all the radars.
There have been many sightings of the Russian ghost ship. In 2014, there were rumors that the ‘Ghost ship’ was slowly making its way towards Britain. In 2016 another unmanned vessel washed up on Irish shores. In November of that year, a makeshift solar-powered houseboat landed on a beach in Co Mayo after drifting across the Atlantic from Canada. In March 2017, signals from the ship were recorded at 700 miles off the coast of Kerry, Washington. There have been no reported sightings of the MV Lyubov Orlova for several years.
Why Russian Cruise Ship is called Cannibal rat ship?
Abandoned by all humans the Russian Cruise Ship floating infested with hundreds of cannibal rats. Rats and mice are attracted by the heat, smell of fish, gran and other food. The Russian Cruise Ship Lyubov Orlova has been making its way in international waters supposedly with a cargo of rats who had nothing to eat except each other.
Photos from the inside of Russian Cruise Ship MV Lyubov Orlova
These photos were made by tourists and crew members of the MV Lyubov Orlova during its last expedition. You may find below the interior design of ship cabins, restaurants, bars, and other rooms.
Travelers of the Russian Cruise Ship MV Lyubov Orlova had at their disposal 7 standard three-bed cabins with an area of 16.5 m2 with amenities: shower, two armchairs, shelves, wardrobe, telephone, window. Each cabin is equipped with two lower and one upper bed.
On the lower deck, there were 14 double cabins with an area of 15 m2, on the main deck there are 23 double cabins with an area of 12 m2, on the captain’s bridge there are 6 double cabins with an area of 10 m2, which additionally have a TV and a safe.
According to the project, the MV Lyubov Orlova had more than 200 berths, equipped with stabilizers and air conditioners in all service and passenger spaces. The cabins, equipped with an individual bathroom with toilet, washbasin, and shower, were equipped with sofa beds, and the upper bunk were Pullman beds.
Ten cabins were equipped with folding baby beds. In the aft part of the vessel on the upper deck, the project provided for a restaurant with 100 seats.
In addition, there were 2 cafes: one for 40 seats with a bar and a cafe-cinema for 60 seats, a music salon with a bar, a dance floor and a stage for an orchestra (for 87 seats). The public premises of the ship could simultaneously accommodate 327 people.
Stunning Photos of the Russian Ghost Ship Lyubov Orlova
We prepared 20+ stunning photos of the abandoned Russian Cruise Ship Lyubov Orlova. These photos were made in 2010 by crew members during the last expedition to the Antarctic waters.
What was the last route of the Russian MV Lyubov Orlova Cruise Ship?
- September 2010–23 January 2013, St John’s, Newfoundland harbour, 47°33′49″N 52°42′4″W
- 24 January 2013: tow lost
- 1 February 2013: second tow secured
- c. 7 February 2013: tow cut loose in international waters
- 23 February 2013: spotted 1,300 nautical miles (2,400 km; 1,500 mi) from Ireland 49°22.70′N 44°51.34′W
The ship is believed to have sunk in international waters after the EPIRB distress signals were activated in early 2013.
