MV Finnbirch
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| 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
[edit]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
[edit]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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] The master of the ship broke several bones after falling, but survived.[citation needed] 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.
Sister Ships
[edit]The Finnbirch has 10 sister ships,[1] these are;
- Global Freighter
- Doric Ferry
- Stena Shipper
- Elk
- Baltic Ferry
- Atlantic Freighter
- Stena Project
- Cerdic Ferry
- Global Carrier
- Nordic Ferry
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "M/F Finnbirch". Ferry-site.dk. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ Lindholm Shipping home page Archived 31 August 2005 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d "Nordic storm sinks Swedish ship". BBC News. 1 November 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ "Swedish Freighter Capsizes in the Baltic Sea". Softpedia.com. 2 November 2006. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Ship rescue faces criticism". thelocal.se. 7 November 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
See also
[edit]
- ISSN 1400-5735 Report RS 2008:03e Loss of M/S FINNBIRCH between Öland and Gotland, 1 november 2006 Case S-130/06." Swedish Accident Investigation Board. (Archive)
- Investigation by the Swedish Accident Investigation Board (Archive) (in Swedish)
- DN Nyheter: Sju räddade från kapsejsat fartyg (in Swedish)
- Fartygets historia (in Swedish)
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 2006 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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