Master of Russian liner ‘old sea wolf’

Press, 18 March 1983, Page 6

Master of Russian liner ‘old sea wolf’

Captain Vladimir Zhigulin, master of a Russian passenger liner which arrived at Lyttelton yes terday. is an "old sea wolf”.

He has been at sea for 38 years, and master of the passenger liner Petropavlovsk for the last 11 years.

She arrived at Lyttelton after sailing more than 6000 miles, direct from the eastern Russian port after which she is named.

She is carrying 250 Russian fishermen who will replace the crews of the jointventure vessels Mys Silina, Mys Osipova, and Kushka. Captain Zhigulin is proud of his 4870-ton ice-strength-ened ship; she was built in 1961 and named after the port of Petropavlovsk which that year celebrated its 220th anniversary. “She was named after our port,” Captain Zhigulin said.

He has sailed all types of ships, from cargo vessels to passenger liners, but his favourite’ is the Petro-

pavlovsk. He has been a shipmaster since 1955. Because she had been in New Zealand only a few hours, the obliging translator aboard. Ms Lidiya Pushkarera, had slight trouble understanding the New Zealand accent, but she got her message across about Captain Zhigulin. “He is an old sea wolf. When they sail for many years they cannot live on

shore — they cannot live without the sea,” she said.

The voyage to New Zealand took 19 days, slightly longer than expected because the Petropavlovsk encountered a storm in the Northern Hemisphere. Captain Zhigulin is no stranger to New Zealand waters; he has sailed to Wellington five times, but was on his first call at Lyttelton yesterday. His ship, owned by the Kamchtka Shipping Company, is a passenger liner in the Russian summer and ferries fishermen during the winter.

She is a sister ship to the Priamurye, a Soviet cruise ship which brought Russian fishermen to Lyttelton recently. The Priamurye, however, is owned by .the Far Eastern Shipping Company. The Petropavlovsk will stay at Lyttelton until Monday or Tuesday, when she will return to Petropavlovsk.

This is the fourth Soviet crew change at Lyttelton in as many months.