Steel (pusher)
Pusher Steel without a barge in the port of Raahe. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | 1987–: Helsinki, Finland |
| Ordered | 14 March 1985 |
| Builder | Hollming Oy, Rauma, Finland |
| Yard number | 263 |
| Laid down | 7 November 1985 |
| Launched | 9 May 1986 |
| Completed | 28 April 1987 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Pusher |
| Classification | DNV 1A1 ICE-1A+ Pusher and Pusher/Barge Unit E0 |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 2,230 tons |
| Length | 41.7 m (136.8 ft) (overall) |
| Beam |
|
| Draught | 6.7 m (22.0 ft) |
| Depth | 10.0 m (32.8 ft) |
| Ice class | list error: <br /> list (help) 1A Super |
| Main engines | 2 × Wärtsilä-Sulzer 6ZAL40 (2 × 3,840 kW) |
| Auxiliary generators | 2 × Wärtsilä-Vasa 4R22HF (2 × 590 kW) Strömberg shaft generator (900 kVA) |
| Propulsion | CPP, ⌀ 4.70 m (15.4 ft) |
| Speed | 13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) |
| Crew | 9 |
Steel is a Finnish pusher vessel owned and operated by ESL Shipping. It is part of the Finnpusku integrated tug and barge system developed in the 1980s by Finnlines, a Finnish shipping company that also managed the vessel until 2003, in co-operation with Rautaruukki for the transportation needs of the steel company. The vessel, built by Hollming in Rauma, Finland, as Finn, was delivered on 28 April 1987 and has since been used mainly to supply raw materials to the Raahe Steel Works.
On 27 December 1990 the vessel capsized along with the barge Baltic outside Hanko, Finland, while en route from Raahe to Koverhar in southern Finland with a cargo of iron ore concentrate. The cargo shifted in heavy weather, resulting in the loss of stability and the vessel capsizing in 10–15 seconds. Seven crew members and a pilot lost their lives in the accident, but the chief engineer and chief officer survived in an air pocket in the aftmost part of the engine room and were later rescued through a hole cut in the bottom. The combination was later rightened and towed to Rauma for rebuilding. Finn returned to service as Steel and Baltic as Botnia in 1991.
Steel has an identical sister vessel, Rautaruukki, which was delivered in 1986.