Description

SS KORSHOLM III PASSENGER STEAMSHIP

FULLY BUILT AND READY TO DISPLAY MUSEUM QUALITY SHIP MODEL

Dimension approx.: 24″ (long) x 5″ (wide) x 12.5″ (high)
The model is already built. THIS IS NOT A MODEL SHIP KIT

When she first touched the water at Oskarshamns Mekaniska Verkstad in early 1931, the ship that would one day be known as S/S Korsholm III was simply S/S Öland — a sturdy, compact coastal steamer built for the Swedish General Post Office. At 37 meters long and powered by an 865‑hp triple‑expansion steam engine, she was designed for the practical, often unforgiving work of ferrying passengers, mail, and cargo across the narrow but icy waters between Kalmar and the island of Öland.

Her early years were defined by routine service and harsh winters. Strengthened for ice, she pushed through the frozen Kalmar Strait season after season, sometimes forced to backtrack through heavy pack ice when conditions became too severe. During the war years of the early 1940s, she struggled through some of the worst ice in decades, a reminder that even small coastal ships could face battles of their own.

By 1946, the world was changing, and so was Öland. Her steam engine was removed and replaced with diesel propulsion — a modernization that extended her usefulness but also marked the end of her life as a traditional steamship. She continued serving the Kalmar region until the early 1950s, though mishaps began to accumulate: a grounding in 1953, a hull leak in 1954, and finally lay‑up in 1956 as newer vessels took over her routes.

Her story might have ended there, but in 1958 she found a second life across the Baltic. Sold to Rederi AB Vasa‑Umeå, she was refitted in Rauma, Finland, gaining a side door, cafeteria, and updated passenger spaces. Renamed Korsholm III, she began sailing the busy route between Vasa and Umeå, connecting Finland and Sweden in a new way. For nearly a decade she carried travelers across the Gulf of Bothnia, even extending service to Örnsköldsvik in 1966.

By 1967, her seagoing days were drawing to a close. The Finnish Navy purchased her for use as a stabsfartyg — a stationary headquarters and support vessel — renaming her simply Korsholm. No longer a passenger ship, she served quietly in naval administration until 1975, when she was transferred to the Finnish Maritime Administration as a moderfartyg for ship measurement work.

As the 1980s approached, the old steamer‑turned‑diesel‑coaster had become a relic of another era. She was sold in 1985, passed between owners, and in 1986 was towed to Stockholm and renamed Öland once more. Soon after, she was sold to Café Casablanca Ap.S in Århus, Denmark, where she began yet another transformation — this time into a floating café, a peaceful final chapter for a ship that had spent decades battling ice, waves, and time.