"Bashkir River Shipping Company" captures an important field of activity in the transport complex of Bashkortostan. Its main activity is pleasure trips and cruises along the wide rivers: Ufa and Belaya.
The full name of the company is OJSC Bashkir River Shipping Company. Once rich in ships, the company now serves only a few ships that are leased from tour operators.
History of the shipping company
The history of the shipping company dates back to August 11, 58 of the 19th century. At this time, two ships ("Fast" and "Grozny"), which belonged to the merchant Zhuravlev, approached Ufa. A year later, passenger traffic along the rivers was opened by the ships "Olga" and "Askold". The latter went along the route Ufa - Kazan. In the 50s of the 20th century, the shipping company began to carry out water transportation for excursion purposes. Those who bought a ticket for a steamship had the opportunity to see historical places, sights, and cultural centers of Russia directly from the ship. Visitors could enjoy the cultural heritage of the rivers:
- Moscow;
- White;
- Kama;
- Volga;
- Don.
Not only Bashkirs, but also residents of the whole country became travelers on steamboats. Cruises became quite popular and were in high demand. Tours began to be organized on Hungarian ships of project 737 ("Demyan Bedny", "Prishvin", "Dzhambul"). Cargo transportation on these ships has been carried out for a decade.
In the near 1963, the shipping company received the first ships equipped for passenger excursions ("Vetluga" and "Chulym"). By the mid-80s, Hungarian steam ships were finally replaced by new comfortable motor ships.
Accommodation on boats
All double-deck ships of the shipping company consist of a boat, main and middle deck. Luxury cabins are available on the main deck. Single, double, triple and quadruple accommodation is available in superior rooms, which include a refrigerator, air conditioning, private shower and toilet.
Standard rooms on the middle deck have accommodation from double to quadruple. The rooms have a washbasin, wardrobe, beds. Superior cabins have TV, air conditioning and in-room amenities.
Shipping company profitability
The Bashkir River Shipping Company (Ufa) was engaged in three types of directions:
- excursions;
- passenger transportation;
- trucking.
Among these activities, river cruises were the most unprofitable. So at the endIn the 1990s, the management of the shipping company decided to lease their ships to travel companies. In 2003, the old line Ufa - Moscow - Ufa was closed, and new routes were introduced into navigation.
Crash of 2011
In the summer of 2011, the ship "Bulgaria" was wrecked near the village of Syukeyevo on the Volga River. Although the ship belonged to the Kama region, the situation still significantly worsened the position of the Bashkir shipping company. The crew of 211 people crashed, and only 79 people managed to escape. Weather conditions (stormy wind) and the wrong turn of the rudder, and maybe a malfunction of the ship, led to an accident and a great tragedy. Subsequently, passengers became wary of river cruises. Demand for tours for the year decreased by 2.5 times. Thus, by 2013, 6 ships were out of service:
- "Musa Gareev";
- "Hero Yuri Gagarin";
- "V. M. Zaitsev";
- "Mullanur Vakhitov";
- "Alexander Golovachev";
- "Gabdulla Tukay".
But there were still 4 ships afloat.
Functioning ships
Until 2015, the ship "Salavat Yulaev" functioned and was part of the "Bashkir River Shipping Company". Cruises stopped at the end of the 15th year. In 2016, the only ship "Bashkortostan" entered the work from shipping. In the spring, he was arrested, but the ship still went on cruises. By the end of the year at the "Bashkirriver shipping company" was seized, and the company actually left the cruise market. But to this day it offers its ships for rent to travel companies.
The ship of the Ufa shipping company "Vasily Chapaev" is still functioning, as it has been leased by the travel company "Infoflot" since 2004.
Unclaimed Vessels
Today, the ships of the Bashkir River Shipping Company are out of work. These include:
- "Bashkortostan";
- "V. M. Zaitsev";
- "Hero Yuri Gagarin";
- "Gabdulla Tukay";
- "Mullanur Vakhitov";
- "Hero Alexander Golovachev";
- "Musa Gareev";
- "Salavat Yulaev";
- "Fyodor Kibalnik".
The steamboats are in excellent working order. Regarding their fate, two outcomes of the situation are possible: sale or solvent tenants.
Sightseeing tours
In general, the river tours offered by the Ufa Shipping Company have always been in demand among many travelers. Vouchers could be purchased not only on the official website, in travel agencies, but also on popular discount sites. For a few tens of rubles, travelers have the opportunity to visit many cities of Russia, relax on board the ship, meet new people, get aesthetic pleasure from incredible landscapes, and breathe in the fresh river air.
