ONE of the first noticeable features of the Ilmatar is the peculiar fore foot of the stem. This is in effect an icebreaker stem and is necessary because of the conditions prevailing in winter in and near Baltic ports.
This unusual vessel is a passenger and cargo ship typical of many similar ships owned by the Baltic nations and running across the North Sea. The Ilmatar was built in 1929 at Copenhagen by Burmeister and Wain for the Finland Line, which maintains services between Finnish and North Sea ports. She has comfortable accommodation, in positions indicated on the above drawing, for 90 first-class and 60 third-class passengers. She has a gross tonnage of 2,365 and a hold capacity of 69,000 cubic feet. The Ilmatar draws 18 ft. 0½ in. of water in loaded condition. Her length is 270 ft. 1 in. between perpendiculars. She has a beam of 41 ft. 7 in. and a depth of 23 ft. 8 in.
The cargo is carried in three holds, two being forward and one abaft the machinery space, but a considerable part of the ship is devoted to the passenger accommodation, this being arranged in the 'tween decks, on the main deck and on the superstructure, where there is a smoking-room and a glassed-in veranda. The Ilmatar is a sturdy little vessel more than capable of standing up to the-heavy weather which she regularly encounters.
