Herakles (pusher) the fuel supply and lubrication system due to the violent pitching of the vessel were not ruled out. On 2 March 2004 the weather in the Bothnian Sea gradually developed into a force 10 storm on the Beaufort scale, with average wind speed around and gusts exceeding . At midnight, shortly before "Herakles-Bulk" sank, the ten-minute average at Svenska Högarn was with three-second gusts of almost . The freezing temperatures combined with strong wind and high waves resulted in fast icing of the ship structures. In 1992 the Finnish Maritime Administration issued a wind limit of for "Herakles" due to
Wind speed Wind speed Wind speed, or wind flow velocity, is a fundamental atmospheric quantity caused by air moving from high to low pressure, usually due to changes in temperature. Note that wind direction is usually almost parallel to isobars (and not perpendicular, as one might expect), due to Earth's rotation. Wind speed affects weather forecasting, aviation and maritime operations, construction projects, growth and metabolism rate of many plant species, and countless other implications. Wind speed is now commonly measured with an anemometer, but can also be classified using the older Beaufort scale, which is based on personal observation of specifically defined