Scientific vessel Professor Khromov. Liner Spirit of Enderby (Professor Khromov), cruise company Active adventure vessels ice-class expedition vessel Public places
Until recently, it seemed to me that I, a professional travel journalist and passionate traveler, had already tried all possible types of tourism. Even packing a suitcase has long become an everyday process, and sometimes I don’t take guidebooks at all: what haven’t I seen there or what can’t I figure out on the spot? And suddenly fate brought me together with people who are engaged in expedition cruises! I caught fire at that very second.
Iona Island // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
These trips are called cruises because all movements take place on a ship across the sea or ocean. But this ship is not a cruise ship with swimming pools and discos, but a real Soviet-made scientific barque - “Professor Khromov”. On it, a group of enthusiastic enthusiasts make unique routes through hard-to-reach places where people have often hardly set foot before. In the summer season they swim around the Far East, Kamchatka, Chukotka and the Kuril Islands. In winter they move to the Southern Hemisphere.
Ship "Professor Khromov" // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
I was lucky enough to take part in an expedition to the Sea of Okhotsk - one of the least explored in the world and practically inaccessible along most of the coast. There was not a minute of doubt that I wanted to visit these places. And now I can safely say that this was perhaps the most unique of my travels. But first things first: the journey was long!
The starting point was Sakhalin, for which the expedition members arrived in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It showed itself to be a clean and bright city, overlooked by a ski slope - one of the largest I have seen in Russia. It’s nice to walk around Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, look at the Lenin monument on the square of the same name, and walk along its wide streets, which seem to know nothing about traffic jams. And since the city does not have to huddle and squeeze in, there is a lot of greenery in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Parks, gardens and flower beds are literally everywhere.
Mosaic in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
Oddly enough, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is located far from the sea. To start sailing, you need to get to the port city of Korsakov. A little less than an hour's journey and you are at the pier.
Welcome to Port of Korsakov // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
The most difficult and always difficult to predict thing remains: crossing the barrier. Cruise organizers say that everything is different and new every time. Among the passengers were mainly foreigners: New Zealanders, Australians, British, French, a Croatian woman with a Danish passport, an Indian woman with British citizenship and many others, as well as several Russians and one Ukrainian. And in our case, at first we waited for something for quite a long time, but then we quickly passed through the checkpoint, found ourselves on the pier and boarded the ship.
Cabin 312 // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
Things were already laid out in the cabins!
Day 1. Introduction and briefing
Coordinates at 13:00 – 46º 37 N 142º 45 E
The pier in Korsakov was truly picturesque, as was the nature around. While the crew unmoored, the newly minted members of the expedition scurried around the decks, taking dozens of photographs.
Cargo port of Korsakov // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
Wood // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
“Minced meat” came to Korsakov from the Kuril Islands // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
"Patriot" // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
Running around the decks was combined with getting to know the ship - the magnificent “Professor Khromov”, or as the crew lovingly calls it, the Spirit of Enderby.
Corridor of the ship "Professor Khromov" // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
Staircase between decks // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
Restaurant on board the ship "Professor Khromov" // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
Daily schedule // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
No entry to outsiders // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
The very first lunch made us understand: we will not die of hunger. That's the minimum. I was preparing for relatively camping conditions and was pleasantly surprised when before the trip everyone was asked if anyone had any food preferences. At the same time, they apologized profusely that they could not provide vegan or kosher food. I ordered the regular vegetarian one and was happy.
Gourmet food on board Spirit of Enderby // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
And I never expected to see a chef from 5-star Australian and New Zealand lodges on board, who will prepare wonderful dishes that are excellent in both appearance and taste. Moreover, every day there was a choice. In general, you definitely won’t be able to die of hunger. But how to avoid gaining extra pounds during 11 days of a cruise is a big question and a personal matter for everyone.
Briefing // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
Then there was our first briefing. The passengers descended into the lecture room in great excitement. Where they told us how the voyage would take place. That plans are plans, and the team will do everything possible to ensure that the program is completed as fully as possible, but it would not be amiss to remind that the gods of the seas and skies are cooler than ever here, and everything depends only on them.
Rescue boat // Maria Puzankova, Travel.ru
A significant part of the briefing is devoted to security. We were told how to use the life jackets that we would wear on the Zodiacs, and where to get a life jacket for rescue at sea if something terrible happened to the ship. They talked about sound signals, and which rescue boat to run to if a certain signal sounds.
Length: 71.6 m
Width: 12.8 m
Speed: 12 knots
Number of passengers: 50 people
Team: 22 people
Year of construction: 1984
Displacement: 2140 t
Flag: Russia
"Professor Khromov" is a small ice-class expedition vessel, ideal for expedition cruises. The main goal of all our expeditions is to allow travelers to actively and fully explore the region being visited, offering them the maximum possible number of landings. And all this - in conditions of safety and comfort. “Professor Khromov” is an ice-class vessel specially equipped for cruises in regions where navigation of larger vessels is impossible.
In 1998, the Professor Khromov ship was completely refurbished to comfortably accommodate a maximum of 50 passengers, an ideal number for a true expedition cruise. There are 22 crew members on board.
In 2013, the ship was renovated.
On board the vessel there is a flotilla of Zodiac type boats and 2 all-terrain hovercraft. This makes it possible to offer travelers active exploration of particularly difficult places to land.
The captain and crew are Russian, experienced sailors, real enthusiasts of expeditionary travel.
Public places:
Bar, salon, library. These leisure places are suitable for using portable laptops and video cameras. Opening hours depend on the events taking place that day (drop-offs, Zodiac rides, lectures). The bar offers a wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
Restaurant. Our chefs will delight you with international cuisine prepared from the freshest ingredients. It is possible to follow special diets. Kosher and strictly vegetarian cuisine is not available on board the ship.
Medical service. Located on the main deck. The expedition doctor is available 24 hours a day.
Connection. The ship has an Iridium satellite telephone connection for phone calls and email.
The language of cruises on the expedition ship “Professor Khromov” is English. A Russian-speaking guide is possible if there is a group of Russian-speaking travelers.
Types of cabins:
Lux Heritage
Separate bedroom with double bed, spacious living room - single bed, desk, wardrobe and refrigerator. Bathroom with shower, toilet and washbasin. Large windows (front and side views). Area 27.5 sq. meters.
Upper deck.
Mini Suite
Upper deck.
Separate small bedroom with a single bed, living room - single bed, desk, wardrobe. Bathroom with shower, toilet and washbasin. Window. Area 18 sq. meters.
Superior Plus
Middle and Upper deck.
2 lower beds, desk, wardrobe. Bathroom with shower, toilet and washbasin. Window. Area 12 sq. meters.
Superior
Middle deck.
2 beds (1 upper and 1 lower), desk, wardrobe. Bathroom with shower, toilet and washbasin. Window. Area 12 sq. meters.
Double without amenities
Main deck. 
2 lower beds, desk, wardrobe. Washbasin. Porthole. Bathrooms with shower and toilet are conveniently located on the same deck. Area 11.25 sq. meters.
Triple room without amenities
Main deck.
3 beds (2 lower and 1 upper), desk, wardrobe. Washbasin. Bathrooms with shower and toilet are conveniently located on the same deck. Area 11.25 sq. meters.
Well, probably, the time has come when it’s time to tell you about the ship, and about the international team that developed and under whose strict leadership our trip is being carried out, and about some of the tourists who went on this cruise.
Let's start with the ship. The ice-class research vessel "Professor Khromov" is part of the flotilla of the Far Eastern Regional Research Hydrometeorological Institute, home port of Vladivostok. The vessel was built in Finland in 1983, equipped with special equipment for carrying out scientific research work, the vessel was reconstructed in 1998, and renovated in 2004. The vessel has a flotilla of Zodiac inflatable boats on board.
Compared to the ocean cruise ships we are used to, the Professor Khromov is very, very tiny, judge for yourself: length 72 m, width 12.8 m, height 6.47 m, average draft 4.50 m, displacement 2195 tons. But small The size of the ship turns out to be one of its advantages, since it can be used for expedition cruises in those regions where navigation of larger ships is impossible. The crew is a little more than twenty people. On our voyage, the ship was commanded by sea captain Dyachenko Alexander Nikolaevich; we will get to know some other crew members during the cruise.
The ship has three passenger decks, which are intended to accommodate scientists, but in a market economy they often accommodate up to 50 tourists.
This time, another 46 tourists from 6 countries set sail with us, in total it turned out like this: six Russians, three Greeks, one Englishwoman, six Israelis, the rest were approximately equally divided between citizens of Australia and New Zealand.
Well, now - about those who invented and organized all this, and above all - about the creator and permanent leader of the New Zealand company "Heritage Expedition" Rodney Russ. A biologist by training who previously worked for the New Zealand Wildlife Service, he founded his company in 1985 to raise awareness of the need for environmental protection and conservation. It was for this purpose that he began to develop and implement expedition cruises to remote and rarely visited regions of the world's oceans.
Rodney Russ was the first in the world to conduct environmentally friendly cruises in Antarctica. In recent years, it has become possible to conduct such voyages also in the Russian Far East. Since the early 1990s, Heritage Expeditions began working with Russian ships, and now every year conducts a certain number of cruises in the Kuril Islands, near the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula and in the Chukotka region. Our cruise was led by Rodney's youngest son Nathan Russ, a very arrogant and not very literate young man with virtually no formal education as we are accustomed to.
The fact is that Nathan spent almost his entire childhood with his father on cruises, first in Antarctica, and then in the Russian Far East, excellently driving the Zodiac. This was Nathan's favorite activity on our trip and a very positive quality, at the same time he did not look very good as an expedition leader, but perhaps this is due to his youth, and in the future he will learn to work with such demanding charges , how many older tourists have seen.
Nathan's assistant was Yulia Mishina, a Russian from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky who speaks excellent English and was our kind guardian angel for most of the cruise.
If Nathan Russ was responsible for everything: for the implementation of the cruise program, and for safety, and for everything that one can think of on such a long journey away from civilization, then our rest, food, lecture supplies, and everything else what was happening on board lay on the shoulders of a fragile young girl - cruise director Megan Kelly from New Zealand.
There was another Russian woman in the “Heritage Expeditions” team - Ekaterina Ovsyannikova, who works as a guide on cruises, and it was she who accompanied the group of foreign tourists in Anadyr. A graduate of the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University, specializing in the life of sea otters (sea otters), she knows the flora and fauna of the Far Eastern seas very well, since she lived on Wrangel Island since childhood, and her parents are famous Arctic biologists. Katya speaks excellent English, which helps her in working with English-speaking tourists. The second guide was Laurie McHargie, a doctor of biology from the USA.
A wonderful couple of New Zealand chefs, Bradley Dean and Nicola Kerr, not only fed us throughout the cruise, but also took an active part in landings on shore.
A very interesting person was expedition doctor Thomas Goodell, a former US Army officer who took part in many military operations of the American army abroad; after his retirement, he found employment as a ship's doctor on cruises. He was very sociable and always a little tipsy, he provided passengers with the necessary assistance at the first request, we had to turn to him a couple of times, but more on that a little later.
Well, since Artem Tkachev is in the last photo, then we need to introduce the rest of the Russians who took part in the cruise: Tatyana and Oleg, both of them are from Moscow, unfortunately, I don’t have any other information, and, of course, our family.
Here, in fact, are all the main characters in my story.
Now all that remains is to talk about our cabin, since it plays a significant role in the well-being of our cruise. So, the cabin is located on the main deck, quite large in area, comfortable both for relaxation and for work, I mean a laptop. As you already know, we didn’t have to choose a cabin, and if we had a choice, we would have taken the same one, since all three-berth cabins are the same.
More or less everything is visible in the photograph, but what is not visible, I suggest you figure it out yourself. The most important thing that is missing is the toilet, it is located nearby, but behind the door, in the common corridor, I will also explain that in all the cabins on our deck this convenience is located there, that is, behind the door. There are several toilets on deck, some combined with showers, which was very useful when, cold and wet, we returned from disembarkation and rushed there to warm up. But more on that later.
Well, now let's take a walk around the ship. On the lowest deck there are sailors' quarters and a lecture hall that can accommodate everyone. Well, we didn’t go into the sailors’ quarters, and we don’t know how the sailors who are on constant and periodic watches live. Our child, whom the whole crew really liked, used to spend a lot of time there, but mostly watching those cartoons that she didn’t take with her or playing computer games, of which the sailors had a lot.
In the lecture hall, from time to time Katya Ovsyannikova or Laurie McHargie gave lectures, the biological topic was divided by them in accordance with their scientific specialization - Katya got fauna, she is a specialist in vertebrates, but Laurie, whose scientific specialization is the flora of the Amazon, gave lectures on the flora of the Far Eastern tundra, and conducted excursions during plantings in search of representatives of the lower and higher forms of tundra plants.
The motor ship "Professor Khromov" is the fourth in a series of ten ships of Project 637, type Akademik Shuleikin, which was built at the Finnish shipyard in Turku for the USSR between 1982 and 1985. Initially, ships of this series were used for oceanographic research. Currently, some of them have been converted for cruises in Arctic/Antarctic waters and can accommodate up to 50 tourists.
The motor ship "Professor Khromov" IMO: 8010350, flag Russia, home port of Vladivostok, was laid down on March 8, 1982 at the Laivateollisuus Ab shipyard in Turku, Finland, construction number 345. Delivered to the customer on March 24, 1983. Currently owner: FGU Hydrometflot, Russia; operator: Federal State Budgetary Institution Far Eastern Regional Scientific Research Hydrometeorological Institute, Russia.
Main characteristics: Gross tonnage 1759 tons, deadweight 620 tons. Length 71.06 meters, width 12.8 meters, side height 6.45 meters, average draft 4.5 meters. Speed 14 knots. Power is supplied from two engines, each with a power of 1147 kW. Sailing autonomy is 70 days. Can carry 50 passengers. Crew 22 people.
For some time he went under the name “Spirit of Enderby”, in April 2013 he again began to go under the name “Professor Khromov”.
In 1998, it was completely refurbished to comfortably accommodate a maximum of 50 passengers.
In 2013, the ship was renovated. On board the vessel there is a flotilla of Zodiac-type boats and 2 all-terrain hovercraft, which allows travelers to offer active exploration of particularly difficult places to land.
On board the ship there is a restaurant, a bar, a lounge, a library, and a medical service is located on the main deck. The expedition doctor is available 24 hours a day. There is also an Iridium satellite telephone connection for phone calls and email.
The language of cruises on board the ship is English. A Russian-speaking guide is possible if there is a group of Russian-speaking travelers.
June 21, 2013 to the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, with 40 passengers traveling on board.
On July 18, 2016, on a cruise called “Where Russia Begins” Travel Pacific LLC, an agent of the travel company from New Zealand “Heritage-Expeditions”, on board of which there are 50 foreign tourists from New Zealand, the USA, Australia and a number of countries of the Asia-Pacific region. From September 24 to 28 in the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
On June 26, 2017, it will arrive in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky by a passenger ship, picked up at the berth of the new sea terminal. June 26 in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the modernized pier of the new marine terminal. On June 27, a 14-day cruise “The Bering Way” will begin along the route: Petropavlovsk - Kamchatsky (June 27) - Zhupanova River (June 28) - Commander Islands (June 29 with overnight stay) - o. Karaginsky (July 01) - Fr. Verkhoturova/Govena Peninsula (July 02) - Titina Lagoon/Olyutorsky Cape (July 03) - Chukotka coast (July 04 to 06) - Meinypilgyno (July 07 and 08) - Cape Navariye (June 09) - Anadyr (June 10) ).
July 12, 2018 with tourists on board to the Senyavinsky Strait to Itygran Island, opening the cruise season to the Beringia National Park.
The first passenger ship was delivered to the berth of the new Kamchatka sea terminal building. On June 26, the expedition liner “Professor Khromov” (“Spirit of Enderby”) moored in the modernized port of the regional center, reports KamINFORM.
“Today is a significant event for us, since the berth in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky has not accepted passenger ships for about 25 years,” said Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Kamchatka Territory Yuri Zubar. — Now a good transport tourism complex has been created in the port, which meets modern requirements and ship handling technologies. A wonderful marine terminal building was built, berth No. 5 was renovated and put into operation, and the station area was put in order.”
On board the ship are about 30 crew members and several scientists studying the flora and fauna of the region. On June 27, the liner will accept about 50 tourists who arrived in Kamchatka by plane and are currently getting acquainted with the natural attractions of the peninsula.
“Professor Khromov” was moored at the comfortable berth No. 5, located near the sea terminal building. As part of the work to modernize the port infrastructure, a major overhaul of the structure was carried out. “I have been sailing the seas for more than 40 years, more than 10 of them on this ship,” said the captain of the Professor Khromov ship, Alexander Dyachenko. — During these 10 years, I definitely go to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Usually we went to another bay, because there was no sea terminal here, there was nothing, we were not moored. Now the building is very good, a real innovation! The whole crew looks at him with pleasure. This is the first time I’ve seen a pier with such convenient rubber fenders. “Very good, the ship sits tightly, does not rock - it’s safe for passengers and crew.”
Berth No. 5 can accommodate liners with a length of about 110 meters. In the complex with berth No. 4 in the port it is possible to install vessels up to 230 meters in length.
“The gate to the port has acquired a civilized appearance. Of course, this will increase interest in the arrival of liners in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky,” noted Marina Anishchenko, acting head of the agency for tourism and external relations of the Kamchatka Territory. — The home port of the ship “Professor Khromov” is the city of Vladivostok. It is operated by the New Zealand company Heritage Expeditions, which specializes in cruise routes between Japan and Alaska calling at the ports of Korsakov, Kuril Islands, Kamchatka, Magadan, Chukotka, Island. Wrangel. The maximum number of passengers is 54 people. Ship cruises are very popular. Tourist groups are mixed, predominantly citizens of Australia and New Zealand, many Europeans, and some citizens of Russia. The ship will accept its passengers tomorrow. Now they are traveling around Kamchatka. “Professor Khromov” will then move to Chukotka, visiting environmental areas and attractive places on the Kamchatka Peninsula.”
The new marine terminal building was built as part of the federal program “Economic and social development of the Far East and the Baikal region for the period until 2018.” The sea terminal has an area of more than 8 thousand square meters and is designed to simultaneously serve up to 200 people. The premises of the passenger terminal are equipped with a waiting room, a customs control area, and a checkpoint across the state border. For the convenience of passengers, information desks with booklets about Kamchatka have been installed, and a souvenir shop has been opened.