''Ochakov'' was a of the Russian Navy

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

. She was decommissioned in 2011 but remained laid-up in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, until on 3 March 2014 she was towed and sunk as a

blockship A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used. It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of at Portland Harbour in 1914; ...

in the channel to

Donuzlav Lake Donuzlav ( rus, Донузлав) also referred to as Donuzlav Bay is the deepest lakeOliferov, A.M. Donuzlav (ДОНУЗЛА́В)'. Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine. of Crimea () and biggest in Chornomorske Raion (). It is a protected landsc ...

lake, in

Novoozerne Novoozerne ( uk, Новоозерне; russian: Новоозёрное, translit=Novoozyornoye; crh, Novoozörnoye) is an urban-type settlement in the Yevpatoria municipality of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a territory recognized by a major ...

, in western

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. A few months later she was refloated and returned to

Inkerman Inkerman ( uk, Інкерман, russian: Инкерман, crh, İnkerman) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is ''de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but ''de jure'' within Ukraine. It lies 5 ...

to await scrapping.

History

''Ochakov'' was laid down in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

on 25 December 1969, launched on 30 April 1971, and commissioned in the Soviet Black Sea Fleet on 4 November 1973. The ship was constructed in the 61 Kommunar Shipyard at Nikolayev (Mykolaiv) on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. She was in service with the Soviet Fleet until 1991, and then joined its successor, the Russian Navy. In 2000, the ship was laid up for modification and repairs. By 2006, all work on the ship had been halted, and, in 2008, the ship was towed from Sevmorzavod. On 20 August 2011, the naval flag of ''Ochakov'' was hauled down and the ship prepared to be sold for scrap. On 6 March 2014, during the

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv th ...

, Russian sailors

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

the hull of ''Ochakov'' in

Donuzlav Lake Lake Donuzlav ( rus, Донузлав) also referred to as Donuzlav Bay is the deepest lakeOliferov, A.M. Donuzlav (ДОНУЗЛА́В)'. Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine. of Crimea () and biggest in Chornomorske Raion (). It is a protected landsca ...

at the entrance to

Donuzlav Bay Lake Donuzlav ( rus, Донузлав) also referred to as Donuzlav Bay is the deepest lakeOliferov, A.M. Donuzlav (ДОНУЗЛА́В)'. Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine. of Crimea () and biggest in Chornomorske Raion (). It is a protected landsc ...

in western Crimea as a

, in an attempt to prevent

Ukrainian Navy The Military Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Військо́во-морські́ си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни, ВМС ЗСУ) is the maritime forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Arme ...

ships from gaining access to the

. Trapped in the bay, the Ukrainian squadron based at the Southern Naval Base surrendered without a shot being fired. The ''Ochakov'' was refloated several months later, and returned to

to await scrapping.

References

External links

Large Anti-Submarine Ships (Kara class)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ochakov Kara-class cruisers Ships built in the Soviet Union 1971 ships Maritime incidents in 2014 Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Shipwrecks in the Black Sea Scuttled vessels Cruisers of the Russian Navy Cold War cruisers of the Soviet Union Ships built at Shipyard named after 61 Communards Ships involved in the Russo-Ukrainian War Shipwrecks of the Russo-Ukrainian War