mikhail lermontov (the andrea doria of the south)

[lermontov]

John Chatterton dived it some tine back and likened the Mikhail lermontov to the Andrea Doria but in shallow water (36m)
This is my favourite wreck dive ever and a group of guys have a dive reunion once or twice a year ( the 'buddsie cobbsies' a NZ colloquialism for a bunch of mates) Having sunk over 30 years ago it still has areas that haven't been dived due to complex maze of corridors stairwells and passages ( plus its bloody scary )
Ive probably done around 275 dives on it and still discovering new areas , the most intriguing think ive found was a tray of eggs still intact at 36m. Most of the cabins in the easy to get to areas have been ransacked years ago but there still plenty of things to see if you know where to look

At the end of the trip we all send out photos and vid clip to one guy who makes up our holiday movie. Enjoy

 

[lermontov]

having trouble loading vid so will do so when successful

 

[lermontov]

 

[lermontov]

this one from 2017

 

[happy-diver]

Magnificent.

One day I may get to do it but I don't think so.

Quite unnerving listening to the background noise, gives me a great respect for movie soundtrack people!

Thank you

 

[Celt]

Brilliant thanks for the video, the dolls in the duty free is freaky. No matter how many times you go to a wreck there’s something new to discover. I only have my phone with me can’t wait to watch them on the laptop.

 

[lermontov]

Brilliant thanks for the video, the dolls in the duty free is freaky. No matter how many times you go to a wreck there’s something new to discover. I only have my phone with me can’t wait to watch them on the laptop.

yes for sure add a bit of narcosis for extra value - there used to be a doll with just a hand sticking up out of the silt at about 35m

 

[AustinV]

Thanks for sharing that video.

 

[Jared0425]

Finally watched the videos and wow what a wreck!

I understand it's a soviet cruise line, but have people made it to the lower dining rooms and engine rooms?

What's the condition of the interior where her side is laying on the bottom? I know the Doria you cant get anywhere near her starboard side on the interior.

And is the wreck protected by law from salvage? If not, the engine room could offer some great goodies. Idk what the quality of the china and furnishings would be (being soviet made and all).

 

[lermontov]

Finally watched the videos and wow what a wreck!

I understand it's a soviet cruise line, but have people made it to the lower dining rooms and engine rooms?

What's the condition of the interior where her side is laying on the bottom? I know the Doria you cant get anywhere near her starboard side on the interior.

And is the wreck protected by law from salvage? If not, the engine room could offer some great goodies. Idk what the quality of the china and furnishings would be (being soviet made and all).

HI Jared yes you can explore 75% of the wreck without too much issue - it can get pretty gnarly in places and a lot of the partitioning around cabins etc is light weight material so theres a lot of areas that have collapsed so needs a bit of caution. The Starboard side is accessible inside but a lot of debris that has dropped down and covering up a lot of the china etc but still lots of areas that are staggering in regard to seeing artefacts - freezer storage lockers full of champagne magnums, slabs of beer cans still in their plastic wrappers.
In the crews Mess theres quite a few 8mm projector reels they used to show for maybe crew or passengers and a library full of books on communism etc

The crockery is from England France and China so mixed bag - The wreck isnt legally protected but Id doubt its got a lot of salvage value. The props and prop shaft might be worth something