S.S. Oihonna - a classic Finnish passenger ship

S.S. Oihonna in the Helsinki harbour in the 1920´s. (Picture from the book "Finland i bilder", 1928)

In the late 19th and early 20th century ships - like many other manufactured products - were usually built to last. One such well built ship was the Finland Steamship Company´s S.S. Oihonna. The passenger ship, built in 1898 by Gourlay Bros. & Co. in Dundee, Scotland, was in active service for over 60 years until it finally was sold for demolition in 1960.

On April 21, 1906 the Oihonna run aground close to Helsinki on its way to Stockholm. All 100 passengers could be saved, and the sturdy ship could soon return to her regular route St. Petersburg-Helsinki-Stockholm.