Bore Britannica

18.05.1989 - 05.06.1989 OS
19.06.1989 - 13.07.1989 OS
18.12.1989 - 04.01.1990 OS
09.04.1990 - 20.04.1990 OS
24.05.1990 - 25.06.1990 OS
26.06.1990 - 05.07.1990 AB

Ordinary seaman 

Able seaman (combined deck/engine)

Bore Britannica

LOA 156 m

GT 15525

Bore Britannica (unknown photographer)

After my military service I got employed back by Bore Line to Bore Britannica and I guess things were looking a bit up by now in Finnish shipping as they had bought a new vessel to the fleet albeit 2nd hand. I was also given a permanent contract this time.

Britannica was ex APL ship that had been running deep sea and she had been modified soon after launch and had been crewed by Brits. The covered weather deck was in such a thick rust that one could kick up sheets of it when walking to the forward mooring station. I guess because of the weather deck covering they had fitted the sponsors on the side to improve her stability.

She had been put on the Turku - Cuxhaven - Harwich line to replace the old Bore Sun. We still went through the Kiel canal and had truckers traveling with us. Most crew from Bore Sun had been transferred here so it was easy to slip into the team. There was a lot of maintenance in summers and the chipping machines sang for hours on end. The covered weather deck was a help in bad weather when going to take off anchor lashings when preparing for port arrivals.

She had as propulsion two V-engine Pielsticks made in Japan that I remember well after I helped out in the engine room doing a haul out of 2 pistons during a stopover in port. By then it became more common to have hired riding crews coming into port and overhaul any due machinery before departure so it was start to finish in one go, be it 24 or 48hrs. In todays STCW resting hours regime this would not fly anymore.

The vessel itself was pretty comfy and worked well, she was just very run down and crew was working hard to bring her up to standard. Company also had started saving as she was never painted the signature Bore yellow. The yellow was actually a custom color shade developed for Bore by Hempel and one could hardly see any other yellow ships on the seas as the old conventional style was black or any darkish color to hide the rust streaks.

In 1990 I resigned to join Aboa Mare school and continue my studies to become an OOW (Officer of the watch) as I thought I had gained enough experience as well as my fiancée at that time also pushed for it.

Some history and details of her as follows:

In 2006 her sistership, Finnbirch, sank off the coast of Sweden after her cargo shifted in bad weather conditions and the ship capsized. Tragically 2 lives were lost in the event.

This was a long series for Stena and she had plenty of sisterships:
(IMO 7528594) Balticum (scrapped)
(IMO 7528609) Finnbirch (sank)
(IMO 7528647) Global Carrier (scrapped)
(IMO 7528568) Global Freighter (scrapped)
(IMO 7528582) Kilmore (scrapped)
(IMO 7528659) Med Star (scrapped)
(IMO 7528661) Pavilion (scrapped)
(IMO 7528611) Pelagitis (still active in 2025)
(IMO 7528635) Cenk T (still active in 2025)
(IMO 7528570) Transfer (scrapped)

Names:
Stena Project (launched as)
Atlantic Project (1978-1981)
Merzario Hispania (1981-1983)
Stena Hispania (1983-1984)
Kotka Violet (1984-1985)
Stena Hispania (1985-1986)
Stena Britannica (1986-1988)
Bore Britannica  (1988-1996)
Finnforest (1996-2011)

Built: 1978 Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Ulsan, South Korea (648)
Rebuilt: 1979 (?)
IMO-number: 7528623
Tonnages: 15525 gt, 4702 nt, 8800 dwt
Length: 151m
Breadth: 21.67 after 1979 22.71m (due to added sponsors)
Draught: 7.32m
Speed: 17 kts
Iceclass: 1A
Main engine: 2 x Pielstick PC2-5V-400, 2 x ? kw, 2 x 7800 bhp

She arrived at shipbreakers in Alang, India on 3rd September 2011 and was beached on the 10th.