Two cranes approach the Bulgaria wreck area

The cargo capacity of each crane is 350 tonnes.

The lifting may begin on July 18 at 10:00 Moscow time, Head of Rosmorrechflot Alexander Davydenko told Itar-Tass. As water is pumped from the boat, the vessel will be transported to a floating dock.

Head of Russia's EMERCOM, Sergei Shoigu said that the schedule of the rescue operation may be optimized, especially since the lifting operation will involve divers who work at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. He assured that all rescue works in the area will be continued until the vessel is lifted. Part of divers will inspect the bottom of the area following the lifting of the Bulgaria, he added.

Seventy-nine people (56 passengers and 23 crew) were reported to have survived the sinking. 76 of them were rescued by the cruise ship Arabella, a few others were saved by other boats, and one survivor managed to swim to the shore himself. At the time of the incident, the Bulgaria passenger's count is estimated to have been at 208, though she was rated to carry only 120.

According to survivors, two ships (oil tanker the Volgoneft-104 and freighter the Arbat) were passing by after the Bulgaria had sunk. Those ships did not stop to help and the Russian Investigative Committee has launched an official investigation into these claims. In accordance with the Russian legislation, captain of a ship that refuses to help in disaster should be sentenced to up to two years in prison. However, it may also be that those ships, being heavy freight barges with minimal crews, were not technically capable of stopping as they passed by or of turning back within reasonable time. The barge owners refused to give any comments. The technical reasons may not be sufficient to justify the refusal, though. Assistance from the towboat the Dunaijskij 66 with two barges that appeared later on after accident, was refused by the Arabella's captain assuming that the towboat would not have provided useful help and would only hinder the rescue.

On July 11, an anonymous source close to the committee investigating into the sinking said that the likely cause was portholes that were opened because of lack of air conditioning on the vessel, which allowed water to enter the Bulgaria when the captain attempted to turn the ship in stormy weather.

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