The first head of Novorossiysk Shipping Co (Novoship), Orest Alexandrovich Sychenikov, has died in Moscow at the age of 95.

Born in Moscow in 1922, Sychenikov served in the Red Army during the Second World War and after being demobbed studied marine engineering in Odessa.

He worked first at Tuapse Shipyard and progressed to top municipal and regional posts before being appointed to head up Novoship from its formation in 1967.