June 30, 2013
45 Years with Finnparts: A Celebration Onboard the Icebreaker Urho in Helsinki, Finland
If you visit Finland on a sunny spring day in May, it is possible to forget the heavy Finnish winters that fill the port of Helsinki with ice. All along the Finnish coast it is the job of icebreakers to ensure that Finnish ports arekept open year-round.
The vessel Urho and sister vessel Sisu are two such icebreakers. These 105m-long vessels owned by Arctia Shipping are powerful, Finnish-built vessels in excellent condition.
Their condition is all the more remarkable when you hear that they were built almost 40 years ago. Urho is named after President Urho Kekkonen, who officially named the vessel in 1975.
Ferryl was honoured to visit the two sister ships in Helsinki in May. Chief Officer Timo Aaltonen showed Ferryl around the vessel Urho, together with Mr. Gustaf Wegelius of Finnparts Oy – Ferryl’s exclusive wholesaler and stockist in Finland.
As part of the tour, crew members showed their use of Ferryl Ferrycid Rustremover. A versatile product used for everything from removal of heavy rust to cement and limescale, Arctia Shipping use Ferrycid for a common application: removal of rust stains on painted surfaces. Effective and easy to use, Ferrycid saves them substantial time and money.
Ferryl is of course proud to play a small but important part in the excellent maintenance of these special vessels.
The visit on board the Urho was made all the more special because it happened on the 7th of May - exactly 45 years to the day of the signing of Ferryl’s contract with Finnparts Oy.
In 1968 Ferryl signed a cooperation agreement with E. Wegelius – Gustaf Wegelius’ father. 45 years later Finnparts remain Ferryl’s exclusive wholesaler in Finland. What better place to celebrate a 45-year-long cooperation than on board a truly special vessel – the icebreaker Urho!
