Bashkiriya

Bashkiriya was a passenger and cruise ship built in 1964 at the VEB Mathias-Thesen Werft shipyard in Wismar, East Germany. The vessel was constructed for the Soviet Union's Black Sea Shipping Company and received the name Bashkiriya, referring to the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the Soviet-era predecessor of present-day Bashkortostan. It belonged to the Ivan Franko class, a group of passenger ships associated with Soviet maritime transport and later cruise operations. The ship's original service formed part of the Soviet Union's organized passenger-shipping network. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the vessel moved through a succession of owners, operators, and commercial identities. Its names changed to Odessa Song in 1992, Royal Dream in 1997, Silver Star in June 1998, Nandini in June 2003, Olviara in November 2003, Ocean Princess in November 2004, and finally Siritara Ocean Queen in September 2006. These changes reflected the ship's transition from Soviet passenger service into later international and regional cruise-related use. By 2003, the vessel had become the sole surviving member of the Ivan Franko class. Its sister ships had either been scrapped or lost, giving the ship historical significance beyond its commercial role. The vessel was ultimately owned by Siritara Enterprise in Thailand. Under the name Siritara Ocean Queen, it was associated with operations on or around the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. On 10 October 2006, the ship capsized on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. The incident resulted in the vessel being declared a total loss. It was subsequently dismantled and scrapped at the site. Bashkiriya therefore survives primarily as a historical identity associated with a 1964-built passenger ship and with the later vessel documented under the title MS Siritara Ocean Queen, rather than as an active commercial brand.

Bashkiriya was built in 1964 by VEB Mathias-Thesen Werft in Wismar, East Germany. The ship was commissioned for the Soviet Union's Black Sea Shipping Company and named for the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. It was one of the Ivan Franko-class passenger ships, a class developed for Soviet maritime passenger transportation. The ship's history continued through the major political and commercial changes that followed the end of the Soviet Union. In 1992 it adopted the name Odessa Song, followed by Royal Dream in 1997 and Silver Star in June 1998. In June 2003 it was renamed Nandini, then Olviara in November of the same year. The vessel became Ocean Princess in November 2004 and later received the name Siritara Ocean Queen in September 2006. By 2003, Bashkiriya was regarded as the only surviving Ivan Franko-class vessel, while its sister ships had been scrapped or sunk. This made it an important surviving example of a Soviet-era passenger-ship design, even though its operating identity and commercial role had changed repeatedly. Since 2006, the ship was owned by Siritara Enterprise in Thailand. Operating under the name Siritara Ocean Queen, it was used in the Bangkok area. On 10 October 2006, the vessel capsized on the Chao Phraya River. The ship was declared a total loss and later scrapped where it had capsized. The incident ended the vessel's operational life and the historical identity Bashkiriya ceased to represent an active ship or operating service.

• 2006

  Renamed Siritara Ocean Queen

  [1]MS Siritara Ocean Queenen.wikipedia.org

  The ship received the name Siritara Ocean Queen in September 2006 and was owned by Thailand-based Siritara Enterprise.

• 2006

  Capsized and scrapped

  [1]MS Siritara Ocean Queenen.wikipedia.org

  The ship capsized on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok on 10 October 2006. It was declared a total loss and later scrapped at the site.

• 2004

  Renamed Ocean Princess

  [1]MS Siritara Ocean Queenen.wikipedia.org

  In November 2004, the vessel adopted the name Ocean Princess.

• 2003

  Renamed Nandini and identified as the last surviving Ivan Franko-class ship

  [1]MS Siritara Ocean Queenen.wikipedia.org

  The ship became Nandini in June 2003. By this period it was the sole surviving member of the Ivan Franko class.

• 2003

  Renamed Olviara

  [1]MS Siritara Ocean Queenen.wikipedia.org

  The vessel was renamed Olviara in November 2003.

• 1998

  Renamed Silver Star

  [1]MS Siritara Ocean Queenen.wikipedia.org

  In June 1998, the ship changed its name to Silver Star.

• 1997

  Renamed Royal Dream

  [1]MS Siritara Ocean Queenen.wikipedia.org

  The vessel entered another phase of its post-Soviet commercial history under the name Royal Dream.

• 1992

  Renamed Odessa Song

  [1]MS Siritara Ocean Queenen.wikipedia.org

  Following the Soviet period, the ship adopted the name Odessa Song.

• 1964

  Built as Bashkiriya

  [1]MS Siritara Ocean Queenen.wikipedia.org

  The vessel was completed at VEB Mathias-Thesen Werft in Wismar, East Germany, for the Soviet Union's Black Sea Shipping Company.

A Soviet-built passenger vessel later repositioned for international and regional cruise-related operations under several successive names.

• Passenger ship · 1964

  Bashkiriya

  The original 1964 identity of the Ivan Franko-class passenger ship built in East Germany for the Soviet Union's Black Sea Shipping Company. The name referenced the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The vessel later operated under numerous other names and eventually became known as MS Siritara Ocean Queen.

• Cruise and excursion vessel

  Siritara Ocean Queen

  The ship's final documented operating identity. It was owned by Siritara Enterprise in Thailand and associated with operations in Bangkok before capsizing on the Chao Phraya River in October 2006. The vessel was then declared a total loss and dismantled.

1. 1MS Siritara Ocean Queenen.wikipedia.org