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Explosion of the Steamship "Dalstroy"
The steamer “Dalstroy” (formerly known as the “Genrikh Yagoda”) operated in the 1930’s and 1940’s from the port of Nakhodka to Magadan, delivering cargo and prisoners to Kolyma. On July 24, 1946, during the loading of ammonal in Nakhodka, an explosion occurred due to gross safety violations. The explosion resulted in the death of 105 people, as well as significant property damage and environmental pollution.

Causes of the disaster

In one of the holds, as a result of careless handling and a serious breach of safety precautions, seven thousand tons of ammonal had started to burn while being loaded onto the Dalstroy. In another hold, because of the increased heat, four hundred tons of TNT exploded completely destroying the port facilities at Cape Astafieva and causing numerous casualties. Some of the ship’s crew, having disembarked shortly before the explosion, were in a protected area, and sustained only minor injuries. After the explosion, the captain of the ship “Oryol”, which was also loaded with ammonal, ordered that his ship be unloaded immediately. The barge onto which this ammonal was unloaded caught fire during the investigation of the explosion. A day after the fire on the barge a freight car located on sidings also caught fire and burned. This saved the surviving crew members, who were exonerated from blame in the explosion.

Consequences

From the Minister of Internal Affairs, Kruglov, to Stalin, Beria; August 14, 1946:

''As a result of a fire and explosion in the Bay of Nakhodka, the steamship “Dalstroy” was destroyed with its entire cargo: 917 tons of explosives, 113 tons of sugar, 125 tons of various industrial goods, 600 tons of grain, 392 tons of metal, at a cost of nine million rubles. Fiftenn million rubles worth of industrial and food goods were destroyed in the Daltroy’s warehouses as well as 25 million rubles’ worth of explosives. As a result of the explosion of the steamer “Dalstroy” 105 people were killed or subsequently died of their wounds. This includes 22 soldiers, 34 civilians, and 49 prisoners. 196 were wounded and hospitalized, including 55 soldiers, 78 civilians, and 63 prisoners.''

The damage to the port was so serious that the bulk of freight traffic, including the transport of prisoners to Kolyma, was moved to the port at Vanino. An interesting result of the blast was a “fuel oil rain” that lasted for two hours, during which time nearly two tons of fuel oil, which had been lifted into the sky by the explosion, returned to earth.

Memories of witnesses

The steamer’s captain’s mate, P. Kuyantsev, wrote of this tragedy in a chapter of his book, I Would Still Choose the Sea.

[Translated from the Russian Wikipedia article by RUSSRMS]

Category:Maritime disasters