Kuru (ship)
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The Kuru was a Finnish passenger ship that sank in a severe storm on September 7, 1929 on Lake Näsijärvi near the city of Tampere . 136 people died. To date, it is the worst disaster in Finnish waters.
history
The Kuru steamship was built at the Sommers, af Hällström & Waldens shipyard in Tampere and put into service in 1915. Her hull was made of steel . The owner was the Finnish shipping company Höyrylaiva Osuuskunta Kuru rl. The Kuru was 28.22 meters long and 116 GRT in size when it was commissioned, but conversions took place in 1923, as a result of which the ship was enlarged. The Kuru was used as a passenger ship on Finnish inland waters . It was registered in Tampere, but its home port was Kuru . During the First World War , the Kuru was part of the so-called Satakundskaya fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy .
On Saturday, September 7, 1929, the ship got caught in a severe storm on Lake Näsijärvi near Tampere . With wind force 8 on the Beaufort scale , the Kuru was hit by high waves and capsized . There were twelve crew members and 150 passengers on board . 136 people died in the sinking, with many sources also reporting 138 fatalities.
The sinking of the Kuru is the worst disaster in Finnish waters to date. Above all, the top-heaviness of the ship contributed to the misfortune. In 1927 a third deck was added without taking the ship's balance and stability into account. Due to the high swell, a lot of water got onto the deck, which could not drain away.
That same year, which was the wreck of the Kuru recovered. It was found that it was hardly damaged. Some restructuring was done to balance the steamer. In the mid-1930s there were further renovations. The steel hull was replaced by an iron one and the engine output increased to 355 hp. The Kuru remained in service until 1939.
