# What is this boat? Why is it here?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 10, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510 "2007-04-10T18:11:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/1 "2007-04-10T18:11:21Z")
On a google map journey, I came across this [boat](http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&q=&z=18&ll=55.237252,165.954055&spn=0.002251,0.004705&t=k&om=1).
Can anyone tell what kind of boat it is? Or even what era this boat likely was built?
Did I find pirate treasure?
---
### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/2 "2007-04-10T18:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=brewha]
On a google map journey, I came across this [boat](http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&q=&z=18&ll=55.237252,165.954055&spn=0.002251,0.004705&t=k&om=1).
[/QUOTE]
That’s quite a journey you’re planning! 😃
Is that a big military base in the north-west corner of the island?
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### Author:  [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/3 "2007-04-10T18:59:13Z")
Hey! Thanks for finding my boat. I knew I left it somewhere in the Pacific. 🙂
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### Author:  [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/4 "2007-04-10T19:08:03Z")
Well, I’m glad we got that cleared up!
FWIW, the boat seems to be about 150’ long. I was hoping someone could recognize what it might be.
As for a military base, I can’t see anything resembling one.
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### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/5 "2007-04-10T19:10:27Z")
Looks like an oil tanker or freighter. Abandoned but not worth salvaging.
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### Author:  [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/6 "2007-04-10T19:14:50Z")
What is that island called? I wonder what’s on it? There is no name or label on the map. Looks interesting. I wonder if anyone lives on it? I am intrigued.
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### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/7 "2007-04-10T19:32:29Z")
The island is called Ostrov Beringa according to Google Earth, and my supposed military base is a place called Nikolskoye, which can be found [here.](http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&q=&om=1&z=15&ll=55.196336,165.997753&spn=0.01117,0.029182&t=k)
There’s something that looks like a railway leading to the sea [here](http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&q=&om=1&z=18&ll=55.364003,165.966779&spn=0.00139,0.003648&t=k) so perhaps it’s just some Russian mining going on.
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### Author:  [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/8 "2007-04-10T19:53:35Z")
According to my atlas, the island is either called ‘Bering Island’ or Kamchatka.
Severnove, is listed as the town where that railroad comes out.
Good find either way. The ship looks too small to be a oceanic oil liner. But, a mining barge? I buy that. I wonder how it got beached though.
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### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/9 "2007-04-10T20:02:21Z")
Ostrov Beringa/Bering Island sounds like a translation thing. Kamchatka is the Russian province it’s part of. What a god-forsaken place though, isn’t it! I’d imagine the sea can be pretty rough in those parts.
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### Author:  [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/10 "2007-04-10T20:55:55Z")
Yep, it’s definetly a translation thing.
Here’s a fun fact. Vitus Bering, shipwrecked there trying to get Kamchatka, which is a Russian pennisula. He failed and died of scurvy, but named the island. I’m guessing that’s how the Bering strait and Bering sea got their names as well. Wow, I’m fighting my own ignorance.
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### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/11 "2007-04-10T20:59:21Z")
[QUOTE=brewha]
Wow, I’m fighting my own ignorance.
[/QUOTE]
And mine, I’ve got the atlas on my knees looking for other remote settlements.
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### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/12 "2007-04-10T21:10:52Z")
Heh, there was me thinking Beringa was a far-north wasteland, but it’s actually a bit further south than where I live.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/13 "2007-04-10T22:08:22Z")
Hmmm…that area is prone to both earthquakes & tsunamis.
Maybe it rode a wave onto the beach?
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### Author:  [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/14 "2007-04-10T23:49:32Z")
It’s the REAL Noah’s ark!
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### Author:  [@threnodyangelfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threnodyangelfire)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/15 "2007-04-11T00:36:04Z")
Abandoned boats really give me the shivers. I don’t know why. There’s just something sinister about them. Also - snorkelling wrecks the couple of times I’ve done it scared me a lot as well.
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2007, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/16 "2007-04-11T01:09:29Z")
Ostrov Beringa is part of the [Commander Islands Preserve](http://www.kamchatkatourism.com/protected-commander.htm). The visitor center, on Karl Marks street, has a email address. They could probably tell you the name of the ship, and how it got there.
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### Author:  [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/17 "2007-04-11T01:17:28Z")
[QUOTE=threnodyangelfire]
Abandoned boats really give me the shivers. I don’t know why. There’s just something sinister about them.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I’m definitely with you there. Because unlike other types of vehicles, people live and work aboard boats, at least big ones - they’re not just for temporary transportation. So an abandoned one is like the equivalent of a ghost town.
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### Author:  [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2007, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/18 "2007-04-11T01:31:14Z")
I don’t know why, but for some reason I just had to know more about this island! So here is what Google gave me:
Wikipedia page:
> **[Bering Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bering_Island)**
>
> Bering Island (Russian: Остров Беринга, romanized: Ostrov Beringa) is located off the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Bering Sea. At 95 km (59 mi) long by 15 km (9.3 mi) wide, it is the largest and westernmost of the Commander Islands, with an area of 1,667 km2 (644 sq mi). Most of Bering Island and several of the smaller islands in their entirety are now part of the Komandorsky Zapovednik nature preserve. Bering Island is treeless, desolate and experiences severe weather, including high winds, persi...
From: [tvwiki.tv](http://www.tvwiki.tv/wiki/Bering_Island)
> [@](#):
>
> Bering Island (Russian: Ostrov Beringa) is located off the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Bering Sea. At 90 kilometers (55 miles) long by 24 kilometers (15 miles) wide, it is the largest of the Komandorski Islands.
>
> It is desolate and experiences severe weather, but is inhabited—the town of Nikolskoye is home to 600 to 800 people, roughly 300 of them Aleuts. Bering Island is a treeless island with hills. The island is foggy and is prone to earthquakes. The scant population on the island is involved mostly in fishing.
>
> Vitus Bering, sailing in Sviatoi Petr (St. Peter), was shipwrecked and died of an illness on Bering Island, along with 28 of his men. This island is also un-commonly known as the “Floating Island” simply because it “floats” on the International Date Line.
From: [tvwiki.tv](http://www.tvwiki.tv/wiki/Komandorski_Islands)
> [@](#):
>
> The Komandorski Islands or Commander Islands, (in Russian, Komandorskiye Ostrova) are a group of treeless islands east of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, in the Bering Sea. The islands consist of Bering Island, Mednyi Island, and two small islets. The inhabitants, Russians and Aleuts, fish and hunt whales and other marine mammals. The largest village is Nikolskoye on Bering Island.
From here: [Bing](http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=55.1966&lon=165.9638&scale=200000&icon=x)
> [@](#):
>
> Lat: 55:11:48N (55.1966)
> Lon: 165:57:50E (165.9638)
>
> Local weather:
> Freezing fog, -11°C, 5mph SE
An aerial view:
[http://googleearthhacks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5394&d=1165580642](http://googleearthhacks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5394&d=1165580642)
From: [Kamchatka. Vitus Bering](http://www.vulkaner.no/t/kamchat/bering.html)
> [@](#):
>
> Over 250 years ago, in November–December of 1741, dramatic events unfolded on a tiny
> remote island in the storm-filled waters between Alaska and Siberia. Two Russian ships,
> the St. Peter and the St. Paul, sailing as part of the great Russian polar expedition of 1724–1743,
> were given the task of charting waters around the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands.
>
> Because the ships’ crews suffered from scurvy, the ship’s doctor and naturalist aboard the
> St. Peter – a German by the name of Georg Wilhelm Steller – went ashore along the southern
> Alaskan coastline to gather plants that could be used to combat the disease. But because
> few crewmembers followed Steller’s instructions, the men were continually plagued by illness.
>
> Sailing once again, the ships were battered by storms over a period of several months.
> At last the St. Peter anchored on the east side of a small unpopulated island in the Commander
> Islands. There, in November of 1741, the ship was hurled up on the only stretch of beach
> along a coastline otherwise dominated by rocky cliffs. The crew dug crude holes in the ground
> for shelter, and lived off of sea otters, seals, and stranded whales. Thirty-one of the ship’s 77
> men–weakened by fatigue and plagued by scurvy–finally succumbed to disease and starvation.
> Among them was the Danish expedition leader, Vitus Bering, who died on 19 December.
> Today, that small island bears his name–Ostrov Beringa.
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### Author:  [@threnodyangelfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threnodyangelfire)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2007, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/19 "2007-04-11T01:49:50Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers]
Yeah, I’m definitely with you there. Because unlike other types of vehicles, people live and work aboard boats, at least big ones - they’re not just for temporary transportation. So an abandoned one is like the equivalent of a ghost town.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah I think you’re right. My room mate used to have a book on ship wrecks - I used to make him keep it in his room because it gave me the shivers so much.
Yes I am a wuss.
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### Author:  [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2007, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-boat-why-is-it-here/399510/20 "2007-04-11T02:02:48Z")
[QUOTE=Squink]
Ostrov Beringa is part of the [Commander Islands Preserve](http://www.kamchatkatourism.com/protected-commander.htm). The visitor center, on Karl Marks street, has a email address. They could probably tell you the name of the ship, and how it got there.
[/QUOTE]
I may just shoot them an email. I hope they speak english.
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