SS Helsingfors (1903)

History
Finland
Name	Helsingfors
Namesake	Helsinki
Owner	Helsingfors Ångfartygs Aktiebolaget
Port of registry	Helsinki
Builder	Chantier Naval Anversois, Antwerp
Yard number	24
Launched	8 August 1903
Out of service	1 January 1905
Fate	Ran aground and sank 1904
General characteristics
Tonnage	759 GRT
Length	63.00 metres (206 ft 8 in)
Beam	9.12 metres (29 ft 11 in)
Installed power	Triple expansion steam engine, 800 ihp
Propulsion	Screw propeller

Helsingfors was a Finnish freight and passenger steamship built in Belgium in 1903 for Helsingfors Ångfartygs Aktiebolaget. She ran aground and sank near Bengtskär on 1 January 1905. The accident resulted in the construction of the Bengtskär Lighthouse.

Description

Helsingfors was 63.00 metres (206 ft 8 in) long, with a beam of 9.12 metres (29 ft 11 in).^[1] Her triple expansion steam engine, made by North Eastern Marine Engineers Ltd, Sunderland, United Kingdom,^[2] was rated at 800 ihp.^[1] She was assessed at 759 GRT.^[3]

History

Helsingfors was built as yard number 24 by Chantiers Navals Anversois, Hoboken, Antwerp, Belgium.^[4] She was launched on 8 August 1903 and completed two months later.^[3]^[4] She was built to carry passengers and freight and was owned and operated by Helsingfors Ångfartygs Aktiebolaget [fi].^[1]

During the night of 31 December 1904, Helsingfors ran aground during a gale near Bengtskär, 16 miles (26 km) southwest of Hanko, and sank on New Year's Day.^[2]^[5] She was on a voyage from Fowey, United Kingdom to Hanko with a cargo of kaolinite.^[1]^[4] The Finnish salvage vessel Protector also ran aground and was holed whilst going to her assistance. Two crew from Helsingfors, three from Protector and a pilot were drowned.^[5] These wrecks motivated the construction of the Bengtskär Lighthouse.^[6]^[7] The wreck was sold in 1906 for 401 Markka.

The broken remains of the vessel lie in 8 to 13 metres (26 to 43 ft) of water.^[1]^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Helsingfors". Hylyt (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c "SS Helsingfors". Wrecksite. The Wrecksite. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Anversois". P Benyon. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Helsingfors". Miramar Ship Index (subscription required). Wellington, New Zealand: R B Haworth. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Wreck of Finnish Steamers". The Times. No. 37596. London. 5 January 1905. col F, p. 4.
^ "History of Bengtskär Lighthouse". Bengtskär. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
^ "Bengtskär stod emot två världskrig" [Bengtskär withstood two world wars] (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. 21 August 2014. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.