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DailyAstorian
The Vaslav Vorovksy
is hit by waves on the
Columbia River Bar.
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 2022 • B1
Columbia River
Maritime Museum
Artifacts from the Vaslav
New fi ndings highlight shipwreck on the Columbia River Bar
By JULIA TRIEZENBERG
For The Astorian
he Columbia River Bar is infamous for
its unpredictable weather patterns and
treacherously shifting sands. Hundreds
of ships have wrecked in the so-called
Graveyard of the Pacifi c.
The Vaslav Vorovsky was the fi rst Rus-
sian vessel to wreck on the bar. During
World War II, the United States sent mili-
tary aid to the Soviet Union to defend itself
from the Germans on the Eastern Front. A
lot of these supplies were shipped across
the Northern Pacifi c from Portland to Sibe-
ria, and the Vaslav Vorovsky was one of
many ships making this journey.
The Vaslav fi rst came through the
Columbia River on Jan. 15, 1941, before
heading to Seattle for dry docking. When
the ship left Portland in April for her return
journey, she was carrying around $1.75 mil-
lion worth of heavy well drilling machinery
as well as hundreds of cases of lard.
After passing through Astoria at around
midnight on April 3 , the Vaslav ran into a
southerly gale on the bar. Captain Tokareff
tried to turn back after realizing how rough
the conditions were, but this led to disaster.
A steering mechanism on the ship jammed
and the crew lost control of the rudder. The
Vaslav Vorovsky was grounded about 300
yards west of Jetty A, a half mile from Cape
Disappointment.
The crew sent out an emergency signal,
which was answered by lifesaving crews
from Point Adams and Cape Disappoint-
ment. Three motor lifeboats helped the
ship, and all crew members were rescued
– although one member of the U.S. Coast
Guard had a close call when he lost grip of
the Jacob’s ladder onto the ship and slipped
T
Columbia River Maritime Museum
LEFT: Pages of a pocket-sized Russian Constitution taken from the shipwreck. RIGHT: The front page
of a logbook taken from the Vaslav Vorovsky.
AFTER PASSING THROUGH ASTORIA AT AROUND
MIDNIGHT ON APRIL 3 , THE VASLAV RAN INTO A
SOUTHERLY GALE ON THE BAR. CAPTAIN TOKAREFF
TRIED TO TURN BACK AFTER REALIZING HOW ROUGH
THE CONDITIONS WERE, BUT THIS LED TO DISASTER. A
STEERING MECHANISM ON THE SHIP JAMMED AND THE
CREW LOST CONTROL OF THE RUDDER. THE VASLAV
VOROVSKY WAS GROUNDED ABOUT 300 YARDS WEST OF
JETTY A, A HALF MILE FROM CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT.
See Vaslav, Page B5
Columbia River Maritime Museum
A set of spoons from the Vaslav,
gifted to a U.S. Coast Guardsman
after the crew’s rescue.