Steel (pusher)
Pusher Steel without a barge in the port of Raahe.
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| History | |
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| Name: |
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| Owner: |
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| Operator: |
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| Port of registry: | 1987–: Helsinki,  Finland
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| 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: |
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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 |
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.
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.
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