Built as an iron hulled vessel by the Motala Warf, Norrköping Sweden for the Kongliga Svenska Postverket.
Launched as the SOPHIA.
Tonnage 222 grt, 136 net, dim 38.90x 6.95 x 3.58m.
One steam engine, 60nhp., speed 10.5 knots.
Accommodation for 32 cabin passengers.
1864 completed.
She was built for the year-round service of mail and passengers along the Swedish coast.
1868 Chartered by the polar explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld for his polar expedition, and under command of Capt. Frederick Wilhelm von Otter sailed from Goteborg on 07 July 1868 for a voyage to the Arctic waters, via Spitsbergen he sailed north and reached 82 42N.
Between 1869-93 she was mostly used for the mail service between the Swedish mainland toVisby and Estonia.
1871 During the cold winter that year she met very tick ice and a voyage from Sweden to Estonia took her four months and 26 days.
During that voyage she made three times a call at Visby.
1871 Her name changed to SOFIA.
1882 Received a new steam engine of 266 ihp.
1883 Used again by Nordenskjöld for an expedition to Greenland. (Greenland and Finland had a joint issue in 2008 to commemorate 125 years of this voyage by Nordenskjöld.)
1885 The SOFIA was used in the service between the U.K. Visby, Stockholm and Liepaja, Latvia.
15 March 1894 Åland Kommunikations Aktiebolag bought the SOFIA for 24.000 Kr. and thereafter used in the Turku, Hamina to Stockholm service from 16 April 1894. The following years during the winter months made calls at Hanko and Helsinki.
Sofia received a state subsidy for sailing during the winter months.
04 January 1897 she grounded at Tjärvenissä, Sweden in which she got severe damage, the repair took a half year.
29 January 1898 the line was transferred to the new formed s/s Bore Stockholm and in the winter of 1898 she sailed between Turku and Hamina once a week, with occasionally between Turku, Kimito, Skinnarvikissa. During the autumn laid up in Turku.
June 1904 she was put on the sale list, there were not buyers in Turku and in the end of October she sailed from Turku to St Petersburg and put again up for sale there.
1905 Bought at Ladoga by the salmiliaselle? merchant and sawmill owner Mikhail Hosainoffille and his son Feodorille.
02 August 1905 she was registered in it Sortavalan register, with the notation used as a tug on Lake Ladoga, (most probably for towing logs.)
1921 Mikhail died and the estate was sold in 1922 to the Sofian Wasili brothers Mihal and Iivan Hosainoff, and SOFIA was put in the Oy Hosainoffin company
1930 The estate was transferred for 115.00 markas by Oy Hosainoffin to the Valamon monastery Yhteysalukseisi.
15 April 1934 the Valamon registry closed.
1940 The SOFIA was disposed by the Soviets and beached on rocks at Valamo, where she was found by the Finnish when they invaded the island in the summer of 1941.
Till 1943 was she slowly scrapped and her metal parts where used for further processing.
Greenland 2008 8.50Kr sg?, scott 527
Finland 2008 80c sg?, scott 1321b
So good as possible translated from http://www.turkusteamers.com/ulkomaanli ... laiva.html
My Finnish is not good at all, so most probably there are mistakes in the translation, correctives very welcome.