The Ivan Franko-class passenger ship (project 301, in Germany known as Seefa 750[1]) was a class of Soviet ocean liners and cruise ships, operated by the Baltic State Shipping Company (BGMP) and Black Sea Shipping Company (ChMMP or BLASCO).[2] The five Soviet ships Ivan Franko, Aleksandr Pushkin, Taras Shevchenko, Shota Rustaveli and Mikhail Lermontov were constructed in 1963–1972 by the East German company VEB Mathias-Thesen Werft, in Wismar. The class was named after its lead ship, which took its name from the Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The last remaining vessel, the Aleksandr Pushkin – last known as Marco Polo, was retired in 2020 and beached in Alang, India for scrapping on 13 January 2021.[3]
The Ivan Franko class surpassed the earlier as Germany's (in both parts of Germany) largest passenger ships after World War II. With a length of 176m (577feet)[4] the Ivan Franko vessels were 54m (177feet) longer than the prior largest passenger ship, and its classmates. The Ivan Franko vessels were also 7.5m (24.6feet) wider, and with a gross register tonnage of 19,861, almost three times larger.
The construction of this class featured some notable differences from contemporary ships built in the west. Among other things they offered cabins for six people and had three taps in the bathrooms – for hot, cold and sea water – Both of these features had been long abandoned in western liners. The ships also featured certain forward-looking features, such as all outside accommodation for passengers as well as the crew, and an indoor/outdoor swimming pool with a sliding glass roof.
| Ivan Franko class passenger ships | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | align=Left | Original name ! | align=Left | English transliteration |
| 1 | align=Left | Иван Франко (Frank) | align=Left | Ivan Franko (Frank) |
| 2 | align=Left | Александр Пушкин (Marco Polo) | align=Left | Aleksandr Pushkin (Marco Polo) |
| 3 | align=Left | Тарас Шевченко (Tara) | align=Left | Taras Shevchenko (Tara) |
| 4 | align=Left | Шота Руставели (Assedo) | align=Left | Shota Rustaveli (Assedo) |
| 5 | align=Left | Михаил Лермонтов | align=Left | Mikhail Lermontov |
| Ivan Franko class passenger ships | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=Left | Year of build ! | Hull No | Image | Name | First operator | Port of Registry | align=Left | Flag ! | IMO-No. | Status |
| align=Left | 1964 | 125 | ChMMP | → | 5415901 | originally, Ivan Franko; sold in 1997 to Polluks Shipping; out of service since 21 July 1997; scrapped in Alang [5] | ||||
| align=Left | 1965 | 126 | BGMP | → → | 6417097 | originally Aleksandr Pushkin;[6] scrapped in Alang in 2021[7] | ||||
| align=Left | 1966 | 127 | Tara | ChMMP | → → → → | 6508195 | originally, Taras Shevtchenko; out of service since 29 January 2005; scrapped in Chittagong[8] | |||
| align=Left | 1968 | 128 | Assedo | ChMMP | → → → → → | 6707753 | originally, Shota Rustaveli; scrapped in Alang in 2003[9] | |||
| align=Left | 1972 | 129 | BGMP | 7042318 | sank on 16 February 1986 near Gannet Point (New Zealand) [10] | |||||