Mikhail Gotsky (1907-1962) was a legendary ship’s captain, the Doctor of Geographical Sciences, who participated in the Second World War.
He started as an able seaman and grew up to the sea captain. From 1934 Gotsky participated in ice convoys along the Northern Sea Route. In 1961 the diesel ice-breaker Moskva under the command of Gotsky, made a voyage from Murmansk to the Bering Strait, and then to Vladivostok in 10 days. From 1943 Mikhail Gotsky participated in military naval operations. He was in the command of navy convoys.
His later years were devoted to the Far-Eastern Shipping Company. A talented navigator and scientist, Gotsky summarised practical knowledge in ice shipping, accumulated by Soviet navigators and by himself in a fundamental work – “Ice Navigation Practice”, for which he was granted the doctorate in geography. The Government highly appreciated Gotsky’s services. He was awarded the Order of Great Patriotic War, Grade I, the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, Medal of Honour, by medals for Victory in the War and for Valorous Labour.
The Russia's Arctic shuttle tanker (70,000 tonnes deadweight) was named after Mikhail Gotsky. This is the second ship in a series of three tankers of enhanced ice class designed for the transportation of oil from the Varandey oil field in the Arctic Region by sea. The tanker has been entered in the Russian International Shipping Register, with St. Petersburg being its port of registry and flies the Russian Federation flag.
