German crew sailed the ship to Helsinki. After having been handed over to the Finnish Navy, Oldenburg was towed to Uusikaupunki for refitting. The work, which began in late 1930 and continued until November 1931, included replacing part of the bottom plating, building an additional tweendeck, refurbishing the rigging, painting the whole ship and rebuilding her cargo holds to accommodate up to 180 men. The shipyard was responsible for the structural alterations while 62 future crew members and cadets of the Finnish Navy were responsible for the other tasks, including carrying 1,200 tons of stones to the ship as sailing ballast. On 1 November 1931, after a number of delays, Oldenburg was renamed SuomenJoutsen (Swan of Finland) after Finska Svan, a Swedish 16th century warship that took part in the naval action of 7July1565 between Sweden and Denmark. After launching, SuomenJoutsen broke her moorings in the strong breeze and damaged two ships, gunboat Karjala and Osmo, a laid-up full-rigged ship built in 1869, before she was brought under control. On 4 November 1931, she left the shipyard for Helsinki, under tow and escorted by minelayer M-1. School ship (1931–1939) Due to delays during the refitting and later problems with the steam heating system, the first voyage of SuomenJoutsen was delayed until late December. Captain Arvo Lieto proposed postponing the departure until the next autumn as Christmas was drawing near and the sea was already freezing, but on 21 December 1931 President P. E. Svinhufvud ordered the ship to begin her first international school sailing under the Finnish flag. SuomenJoutsen was towed to the sea on the following day, but she had to wait for favourable winds outside Porkkala until 28 December, at which point she had already been grounded once. The streak of bad luck continued when the ship was anchored in Trongisvágsfjørður in Suðuroy, Faroe Islands, after stopping to purchase more lubrication oil at Trongisvágur. SuomenJoutsen dragged her anchors in a storm measuring 11–12 on the Beaufort scale, drifting stern first towards the shore. After two trawlers and a tugboat managed to get the full-rigged ship safely to the harbour, it was found out that the rudder had been damaged and the ship was towed to England for drydocking. After repairs, SuomenJoutsen continued to the Canary Islands, where she remained for three weeks while Captain Lieto was relieved of command and replaced by John Konkola, who served as the