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
RRS Discovery over the Christmas period the ship was blocked in by pack ice. A Norwegian whaler was met on December 29, which gifted the "Discovery" a further 50 tons of coal. On December 31 the ship was struck by a violent storm with winds of up to 70 mph (Force 11 on the Beaufort Scale). The ship was driven against the ice, while larger bergs were blown onto the ship by the wind. For eight hours the "Discovery" was repeatedly slammed into and onto thick ice and battered by bergs but MacKenzie was able to slowly work the ship offshore by