Abstract: A metallurgical vessel includes a cylindrical portion which is supported on a ring carrying a tilting spindle which is mounted for pivotal tilting movement of the vessel. The vessel includes a frustoconical mouth portion at its upper end which terminates in a mouth ring of reinforced construction. The construction includes a cooling arrangement for the mouth portion which comprises a plurality of groups of coils which are wound around the mouth portion and which are advantageously wound in the form of a multistart screw thread. Each group of coils includes an inlet and an outlet which is connected to a distributor through suitable valves. This distributor in turn is connected through a main distribution pipe which extends through an opening in the tilting ring and the tilting spindle and is connected to a source of fluid cooling medium through a rotary seal at the outer end of the tilting spindle.