SS Charlotte Cords Charlotte Cords was a cargo ship that was built in 1923 by Neptun AG , Rostock for German owners . She was seized by the Allies in Travemünde in May 1945 , passed to the Ministry of War Transport ( MoWT ) and renamed Empire Connah . In 1946 , she was allocated to the Soviet Government and renamed Nikolai Bauman ( Николай Бауман ) . The ship was scuttled while carrying a cargo of nuclear waste in 1964 . Description . The ship was built in 1923 by Neptun AG , Rostock . The ship was long , with a beam of . She had a depth of . The ship had a GRT of 1 , 779 and a NRT of 1 , 049 . The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine , which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke . The engine was built by Neptun . History . " Charlotte Cords " was built for Dampfschiff Gesellschaft August Cords GmbH , Rostock . Her port of registry was Rostock and the Code Letters MFLN were allocated . On 25 July 1934 , she was involved in a collision with the British cargo ship in the North Sea off Grimsby , Lincolnshire , United Kingdom . In 1934 , her Code letters were changed to DMAE . On 21 March 1941 , " Charlotte Cords " was reported as preparing to depart from Rotterdam , Netherlands for Germany . and were ordered to intercept her but failed to do so . " Charlotte Cords " was seized by the Allies in May 1945 at Travemünde . She was passed to the MoWT and renamed " Empire Connah " . Her port of registry was changed to London . The Code Letters GMZB and United Kingdom Official Number 180692 were allocated . In 1946 , " Empire Connah " was allocated to the Soviet Government and was renamed " Nikolai Bauman " ( Николай Бауман ) . She was operated by the Northern Sea Shipping Company ( Северное Морское Пароходство ) , Archangelsk . On 5 November 1957 , " Nikolai Bauman " was involved in a collision with the Dutch coaster just off the coast at Vlissingen Netherlands , which led to the latter ship sinking . All eleven crew were rescued from " Corale " and taken to Vlissingen to recover . " Nikolai Bauman " was on a voyage from Archangelsk to Rotterdam . " Corale " was on a voyage from Antwerp , Belgium to Wismar , East Germany . At the time of the collision , she was being escorted by the Vlissingen pilot boat . A third ship , the 10 , 220 GRT of the Nederlandsch - Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij , had obscured " Corale " from " Nikolai Bauman " . There was no chance for either ship to avoid the collision . " Nikolai Bauman " anchored off Vlissingen following the collision . It was requested that she be held there until bail of ƒ1 , 750 , 000 was posted . Two officials tried to board " Nikolai Bauman " on 6 November , but Captain Pavel Mironiv refused to allow this , claiming that he was not responsible for the collision , and that it was a matter for the Soviet Government . He refused to be bound by any decision of the Dutch authorities and demanded access to the Soviet Embassy . It was not until that evening that negotiations were concluded and " Nikolai Bauman " was allowed to continue her voyage to Rotterdam after a much reduced bail had been posted . In 1961 , " Nikolai Bauman " was transferred to the Murmansk Shipping Company ( Му́рманское Морское Пароходство ) , Murmansk . She was scuttled in 1964 with a cargo of nuclear waste in Tsivolki Bay , Novaya Zemlya .