Fabian Wrede class consists of three training ships used by Finnish Navy

Finnish Navy

The Finnish Navy is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS" simply short for "Finnish Navy Ship"...

. The ships are used by the Naval academy of Finland for basic seamanship training, with particular emphasis on navigation in coastal and archipelago waters. The vessels in the class are Fabian Wrede, Wilhelm Carpelan and Axel von Fersen. All ships were built by Uudenkaupungin työvene Oy and commissioned between 2006 and 2008. The ships will replace the old Heikki class training ships.

Design

Fabian Wrede class ships are built with steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 hull

Hull (watercraft)

A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...

 and aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

 superstructure

Superstructure

A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...

. One 500 kW CAT C 18 engine driving a single screw

Propeller

A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...

 provides the propulsion for the vessels, with a bow thruster

Bow thruster

A bow thruster is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, the bow of a ship or boat to make it more maneuverable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow the captain to turn the vessel to port or starboard without using the main propulsion mechanism which requires...

 provided for increased maneuverability. An auxiliary 38 kVA diesel generator

Diesel generator

A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electrical energy....

 is also carried. The ships are manned with a maximum of eight seaman students and four instructors and crew members. Intended as purpose-built training ships the internal layout and equipment of the bridge is designed similar to larger warships. The engine room

Engine room

On a ship, the engine room, or ER, commonly refers to the machinery spaces of a vessel. To increase the safety and damage survivability of a vessel, the machinery necessary for operations may be segregated into various spaces, the engine room is one of these spaces, and is generally the largest...

 is built spacious enough for several students and the mess

Mess

A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...

 can be converted to a class room.

Ships

Fabian Wrede class ships are named after nobles and officer

Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

s from the period of Swedish rule in Finland. The names have been previously carried by Von Fersen class liaison ships. The lead ship Fabian Wrede, pennant number

Pennant number

In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...

 690, is named after Fabian Casimir Wrede and was commissioned on the 15th of August 2006. Wilhelm Carpelan (691), the namesake of Wilhelm Carpelan was commissioned on the 14th of June 2007. The last ship in the class, Axel von Fersen (692) was commissioned on the 30th of June 2008, and is named after Axel von Fersen the Elder