MV Finnbirch
Encyclopedia
MV Finnbirch was a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ship built in 1978 as Stena Prosper.
History
Finnbirch was built at Hyundai Heavy IndustriesHyundai Heavy Industries
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. is the world's largest shipbuilding company, headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea. The company is a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group...
in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and delivered to her owners Stena RoRo on 2 February 1978. In 1988 the ship was sold to Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Rettig, and in 1995 to Bore Line. In 1999, Strömma Turism & Sjöfart in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
acquired the ship and kept it until it foundered. Lindholm Shipping, Strömma Turism & Sjöfart AB was the last owner of Finnbirch and her sister ship Finnforest. Both vessels were in timecharter for the Finnish company Finnlines
Finnlines
Finnlines Plc is a Finnish shipping company that operates freight throughout Northern Europe as well as passenger services in the Baltic Sea. In the past, Finnlines has operated ships under the brands Finncarriers, Finnflow Systems, Finnjet Lines, and FG Shipping Oy Ab...
Plc at the time of the sinking.
Sinking
On 1 November 2006, the ship sank on the east coast of Sweden. At the time of the sinking, Finnbirch had a crew of 14, of four Swedes and ten FilipinosPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. The ship capsized in a heavy storm which also set an oil rig adrift. The crew were seen sitting on the ship's hull, but the storm prevented rescue boats from reaching the scene and it was too dangerous to lower the helicopter crew onto the violently pitching hull. All but two of the men were eventually rescued after jumping into the sea once the ship had capsized . One of the Filipino crew members died in the hospital after his rescue suit failed and a Swede drowned after being entangled in the wreck . The master of the ship broke several bones after falling, but survived . On 7 November 2006, the Merchant Marine Officers’ Association criticized the rescue, stating that the helicopter had been circling overhead whilst the crew members sat on the hull waiting to be rescued.