MV Finnbirch

History
Name:
  • Finnbirch (1996-2006)
  • Bore Gothica (1988-1996)
  • Stena Gothica (1985-1988)
  • Stena Ionia (1982-1985)
  • Merzario Ionia (1981-1982)
  • Atlantic Prosper (1978-1984)
  • Stena Prosper (1978)[1]
Operator:
Port of registry: Stockholm  Sweden [1]
Builder: Hyundai Heavy Industries [1]
Yard number: 646 [1]
Launched: 1978 [1]
Acquired: 2 February 1978
Identification:
Fate:
General characteristics
Length: 155.99 m (511 ft 9 in) [1]
Beam: 22.71 m (74 ft 6 in) [1]
Draft: 7.32 m (24 ft 0 in) [1]
Speed: 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) [1]
Crew: 14

MV Finnbirch was a Swedish roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ship built in 1978 as Stena Prosper.

History

Finnbirch was built at Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea and delivered to her owners Stena RoRo on 2 February 1978. In 1988 the ship was sold to Finnish Rettig, and in 1995 to Bore Line. In 1999, Strömma Turism & Sjöfart in Stockholm acquired the ship and kept it until it foundered. Lindholm Shipping, Strömma Turism & Sjöfart AB was the last owner of Finnbirch and her sister ship Finnforest. Both vessels were in timecharter for the Finnish company Finnlines Plc at the time of the sinking.[2]

Sinking

On 1 November 2006, the ship sank on the east coast of Sweden.[3] At the time of the sinking, Finnbirch had a crew of 14,[3] of four Swedes and ten Filipinos.[3] The ship capsized in a heavy storm which also set an oil rig adrift. The crew were seen sitting on the ship's hull,[3] but the storm prevented rescue boats from reaching the scene and it was too dangerous to lower the helicopter crew onto the violently pitching hull.[4] All but two of the men were eventually rescued after jumping into the sea once the ship had capsized . One of the Filipino crew members died in the hospital after his rescue suit failed and a Swede drowned after being entangled in the wreck . The master of the ship broke several bones after falling, but survived . On 7 November 2006, the Merchant Marine Officers’ Association criticized the rescue, stating that the helicopter had been circling overhead whilst the crew members sat on the hull waiting to be rescued.[5]

If one is going to save lives it is probably best to do so while they are still on board rather than when they are in the water.
— Christer Themnér, CEO of Merchant Marine Officers’ Association [5]
MV Finnbirch during its sinking

Sister Ships

The Finnbirch has 10 sister ships,[1] these are;

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "M/F Finnbirch". Ferry-site.dk. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  2. ↑ Lindholm Shipping home page Archived 31 August 2005 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Nordic storm sinks Swedish ship". BBC News. 1 November 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  4. ↑ "Swedish Freighter Capsizes in the Baltic Sea". Softpedia.com. 2 November 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Ship rescue faces criticism". thelocal.se. 7 November 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2010.

See also

Coordinates: 56°45′03″N 17°15′06″E / 56.75083°N 17.25167°E / 56.75083; 17.25167

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