Minelayer Pansio, Porkkala ja Pyhäranta

Design, construction and midlife upgrade

ILS Oy was founded on June 13, 1988, after the shipyard crisis had forced to end the operations of Oy Laivateollisuus Ab, a shipyard located in Turku. The times were difficult and the competition for even small design assignments was fierce in Finland. We managed to get a commission from Asennusliike N. Lehtinen Ky (later Aslemetals Oy) from Rauma for the design of a heavy ice-going pilot cutter, the project number of which became P002. The cutter was built at Niilo Lehtinen’s new shipyard in Olkiluoto, and during the work there was good confidence that we can get through the recession at hand. The cutter was handed over to the Finnish Maritime Administration in 1989. Even during the construction of the cutter, we worked to find joint projects. We went to present ourselves to both domestic shipping companies and Soviet ship buyers in both Moscow and Leningrad.

The situation of the shipyards in Finland yet worsened when it became obvious that the orders from the Soviet Union were ending and no new domestic shipbuilding projects were being created. Together with Asennusliike N. Lehtinen Ky, we had good readiness and know-how for building small ships, and thus there was no big conflict with the big shipyards. We dared to strengthen cooperation by establishing a joint stock company Olkiluodon Telakka Oy with the aim of building and maintaining small vessels at the Olkiluoto shipyard owned by Asennusliike N. Lehtinen Ky. We managed to get an order from the Finnish Navy for the overhaul of OSRV Hylje built by Laivateollisuus Oy. New main engines and azimuth rudder thrusters were installed on the ship. The agreement with the Finnish Environment Agency was signed on June 28, 1990, and it gave faith in the possibilities of the new shipyard. The work was extensive – the ship was lengthened, and the Finnish Naval Staff’s expertise played a key role in the design and installation of the new main engines and propeller equipment. In addition, the ship’s oil control system was renewed to be active in accordance with the instructions of the Finnish Environment Agency. The renewed vessel was delivered after the test runs on April 26, 1991.

During the conversion of OSRV Hylje, we also heard that the Finnish Navy as aiming to build three smaller minelayers as auxiliary vessels in addition to the minelayers ordered from the Rauma shipyard. We discussed the vessels’ operational requirements with the navy representatives and became interested in the ships’ technology. The Navy issued a request for tenders to Finnish shipyards, with requirements for the ship’s operation attached. In addition to the preliminary requirements we already knew, a requirement for demanding ice-going capability had been added, but the requirement for a small draft had not been eased. This led to us becoming more interested and saw an opportunity to offer the navy a design that would fulfill the requirements.

The navy ordered three minelayers according to our concept from Olkiluodon Telakka Oy, two for the navy and one for the coastal artillery.

The solution was not satisfactory for Finland’s big shipyards. After the agreement, considerable pressure was created for both Olkiluoto and the navy to change the decision “in accordance with the interests of Finland”. However, the decision stood and was not changed, despite all demands and threats.

Ordering the ships from the new shipyard provided a new solution to construction-time collateral: Korpela, Viemerö, Peltokangas and Naukkarinen, directors of the Turun Seudun Osuuspanki, and Viljanen, director of the State Guarantee Center, together with the shipyard, built a collateral package. It was the first time a private financial institution had a warship as collateral!

According to the offer, the basic design of the ships included extensive open water and ice model tests, which were carried out in the test tanks of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Helsinkin University of Technology. Design, model tests, equipment selection and of course all work was guided by the representatives of the Finnish Navy with a firm but friendly hand under the leadership of engineer commodores Alpo Tuurnala, Pekka Lopmeri, Vesa Lappalainen and in some places also engineer admiral Auvo Vappula. The construction supervisors were the masters of the ships and the chief engineers under the leadership of engineer Raimo Kärnä. The technical solution proved to be correct for both open water driving and icebreaking: The ship’s propulsion in the half-tunnels worked even better than expected! The vessel has a long bow ramp, which enables loading and unloading from various piers and beaches, and a short stern ramp for loading and mine-laying.

Minelayer Pansio was handed over to the Navy on 25 September 1991, and Pyhäranta at the end of 1991. In the spring of 1992, the third sister ship, Porkkala, was handed over to the Coastal Artillery.

In 2013, the Finnish Navy ordered the design and implementation of the Midlife Upgrade lifecycle upgrade for the entire initial series from Atlas Electronic Oy Finland, for which ILS Oy was responsible for the design part and Uudenkaupungin Työvene Oy for the shipyard implementation. The renewal works of the entire series were completed in 2016.