Finnpusku
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | |
| Operators: |
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| Built: | 1985–1987 |
| In service: | 1986– |
| Completed: | |
| Lost: |
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| General characteristics (combination) | |
| Type: | Integrated tug and barge |
| Classification: |
DNV  1A1, Pusher/Barge Unit, Ice IA+ |
| Tonnage: | |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 166.6 m (546.6 ft) |
| Beam: | 27.2 m (89.2 ft) |
| Draught: | 6.7 m (22.0 ft) |
| Depth: | 10.0 m (32.8 ft) |
| Ice class: | 1A Super |
| Main engines: | 2 × Wärtsilä-Sulzer 6ZAL40 (2 × 3,840 kW) |
| Auxiliary generators: | 2 × Wärtsilä-Vasa 4R22HF (2 × 590 kW/710 kVA) Strömberg shaft generator (900 kVA) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) |
| Crew: | 9 |
Finnpusku is an integrated tug and barge system owned and operated by ESL Shipping, a Finnish shipping company that specializes in bulk cargo transports in the Baltic Sea. The system was developed in the 1980s by Finnlines, another Finnish shipping company that also managed the vessels until 2003, in co-operation with Rautaruukki to transport raw materials to the Raahe Steel Works. Two pushers and five barges, four of which remain in service, were delivered by Hollming in 1986–1987.
Today the Finnpusku system consists of pushers Rautaruukki and Steel, and barges Board, Botnia, Kalla and Tasku.
Separating the expensive machinery section from the cargo space offers several advantages in comparison to conventional vessels, one of the most important being the ability to operate on the "drop and swap" principle which minimizes the turnaround time in port for the pusher and its crew. When a pusher-barge combination arrives at a port, the fully laden barge is left for unloading while the pusher picks up an empty one and leaves again. In theory the system works on optimum efficiency when there are as many barges as there are pushers and ports of call – the barges are always either being loaded or unloaded, or underway with a pusher. In addition to reducing unprofitable waiting time such operation principle allows more time for the unloading of the barge, removing the need for expensive cargo handling equipment in the unloading port.
One of the major arguments in favor of integrated tug barge systems is the small number of crew required to operate such vessel — whereas a conventional vessel with capacity in par with the Finnpusku pusher-barge combination would require a crew of 16–17, the integrated tug-barge unit can be operated by a crew of only 9. In some cases an integrated system is adopted only for this reason and the pusher is rarely, if ever, decoupled from the barge.
An integrated system has several technical advantages in comparison to towed barges. Traditionally tugs, being short in length, have to operate at relatively high Froude numbers resulting in high wave making resistance and the barges, being towed in the tugs' wake, have skegs that improve directional stability but increase drag. Positioning the tug behind the barge in a stern notch improves the hydrodynamic efficiency of the combination, resulting in significant reductions in the total resistance. In addition the tug, operating in the wake of the barge, has better control over the combination and thus improves seaworthiness and maneuverability in comparison to the traditional towing arrangement.
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Wikipedia