SS Salama

Steam schooner Salama is a Finnish cargo and passenger ship that sank in 1898, was raised in 1971, and is now open to the public as a museum ship. The word "salama" is Finnish for lightning.

SS Salama in her berth outside Savonlinna Museum
History
Name	Salama
Owner	1874: Savonlinnan Höyrylaiva Osakeyhtiö 1985: Savonlinna museum
Route	Joensuu–Savonlinna–Viipuri–Pietari
Builder	Viipurin konepaja
Completed	1874
Fate	Sank near Puumala during a storm, 13 September 1898
Status	Raised in 1971, opened as museum ship since 1985
General characteristics
Type	Steam schooner
Length	31.42 m (103.1 ft) p/p
Beam	6.7 m (22 ft)
Depth	244 m (801 ft)
Speed	7.5 knots (13.9 km/h) (1874-1898)
Capacity	as built: 12 passengers 1883-1898: 60 passengers

The vessel was built in 1874 by the Vyborg machine shop in the Grand Duchy of Finland for the Savonlinnan Höyrylaiva Osakeyhtiö (Savonlinna steam ship company). She was originally equipped with both a steam engine and auxiliary sails. She mainly operated on inland waterways of lake Saimaa and coastal waters of the Gulf of Finland on the route Joensuu - Savonlinna - Lappeenranta - Vyborg - Saint Petersburg carrying both cargo and passengers. In addition, the ship made a number of voyages across the Baltic Sea to Lübeck. The vessel was built for only 12 passengers, but after her 1883 refit, she could carry 60 people in a lounge and dining room.

On the night of 13 September 1898, SS Salama was traversing a narrow waterway near Puumala while returning from Saint Petersburg towards Savonlinna when she collided with the passenger ship SS Ilmari. The collision tore a hole in the starboard side of Salama's hull, and she sank half an hour later. The tugboat Ahkera happened to be nearby and managed to rescue all of Salama's passengers and crew.

In 1970, the shipwreck was discovered by chance when Salama's mast was caught in a passing tugboat's wire. The wreck was raised in the summer of 1971 in a project funded by the forest industry company Stora Enso). Having been well preserved by the freshwater conditions, SS Salama was restored and the hole in her hull was repaired. In 1985, she was donated to the City of Savonlinna to be opened as a museum ship. As of 2024, she is afloat but permanently moored outside the Savonlinna Museum alongside the museum ships SS Savonlinna and SS Mikko.