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The Ship-Museum "Surakhani" is again among the first for the number of visitors
On March 1, 2021, a significant event took place in the centuries-old history of navigation and cultural life of Azerbaijan. The world's first tanker-museum “Surakhani” was opened with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.
Since May 10 - the day when doors of the museum were opened for visitors, the “Surakhani” has aroused great interest. To this day, the museum has received a total of 15,634 local and foreign guests, thus, becoming one of the most visited museums in the country.
"Surakhani" is the first scientific and technical museum in our country. The fact that it was organized on a ship that transported oil and oil products for dozens of years is of particular importance. The museum is a vivid example of the reuse of technical means, that is, revitalization, which is currently actual in the world. The revitalization process (from Latin re-return, vita-life, return to life) involves the use of obsolete technical objects (factories, factories, industrial areas, etc.) in a new format, mainly as an art space, while maintaining authenticity. Thus, the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Closed Joint Stock Company (ASCO) has contributed to the protection of the environment.
"Surakhani" is one of the ASCO’s oldest vessels. Therefore, its use as a museum is not accidental. The single-deck, shallow-water tanker "Surakhani" of "Engineer A. Pustoshkin" type was built in 1958. The ship is 123.5 meters long and 16 meters wide with water pressure of 6520 tons. A tanker with a crew of 32 members could sail 3,523 nautical miles at a speed of 11 knots.
It should be noted that the decision to turn the “Surakhani” tanker into a museum was made in 2017. The related design, overhaul and renovation and museumization work was carried out based on the experience of such countries as Great Britain, the Netherlands and Turkey, which have a rich tradition of sailing, as well as with the involvement of more than 100 local and foreign companies and with the participation of more than 2,000 specialists. As a result, there was created a unique tanker-museum with 11 exhibition halls, a souvenir shop, a restaurant for 68 people, and a terrace.