Rautaruukki (pusher)
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| History | |
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| Name: | Rautaruukki |
| Owner: |
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| Operator: |
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| Port of registry: | |
| Ordered: | 29 September 1984 |
| Builder: | Hollming Oy, Rauma, Finland |
| Yard number: | 262 |
| Laid down: | 27 June 1985 |
| Launched: | 20 December 1985 |
| Completed: | 31 October 1986 |
| Identification: |
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| 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: |
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| 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) 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 |
Rautaruukki 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. Rautaruukki, built by Hollming in Rauma, Finland, was delivered on 30 October 1986 and has since been used mainly to supply raw materials to the Raahe Steel Works.
Rautaruukki has an identical sister vessel, Steel, which was delivered in 1987 as Finn. The vessel capsized in 1990, but was rebuilt, renamed and returned to service in 1991.
The development of the Finnpusku system dates back to the 1960s when Finnlines developed the first version of the icegoing pusher-barge system. While the concept was not pursued further due to various problems, an upgraded version was developed in the 1970s. In the late 1970s Rautaruukki Oy began transporting raw materials to the steel mill in Raahe by towed barges and found them suitable for the steel company's transportation needs. However, due to the poor maneuverability of the barges and their inability to operate in winter conditions, Rautaruukki decided to investigate if it would be possible to design a pusher-barge system that could also be operated in ice conditions. When Finnlines was consulted, it presented the Finnpusku system it had developed and the two companies signed a development contract. Later Finnlines performed several feasibility studies which showed that a pusher-barge system would be the most economical and efficient method of transporting bulk cargoes on the relatively short routes of the Baltic Sea.
The initial plan was to establish shipping companies for each vessel of the Finnpusku system under the joint ownership of several large Finnish industrial and shipping companies, including Rautaruukki and Finnlines, which would also manage the vessels. However, due to delays in negotiations Rautaruukki, concerned about the continuous supply of raw materials to the Raahe Steel Works, decided to order one pusher and two barges for itself and signed a building contract with Hollming on 29 September 1984. The first pusher of the Finnpusku system, Rautaruukki, was laid down on 27 June and launched on 20 December 1985.
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