THE GATEWAY TO FINLAND

With passenger and cargo traffic recovering at the Port of Helsinki, CEO Ville Haapasaari outlines plans for port infrastructure developments and carbon neutrality

Writer: Jack Salter | Project Manager: Cameron Lawrence

After navigating the choppy waters of the COVID-19 pandemic, sea passenger traffic is now rebounding in Finland.

In 2022, 8.1 million passengers travelled through the Port of Helsinki, one of the busiest passenger ports in Europe and Finland’s main port for foreign trade, a number that is expected to grow once again in the coming year.

Though still shy of pre-pandemic levels, due in part also to the war in Ukraine and Finland’s close proximity to Russia, the port is on a promising upward trajectory having more than doubled its passenger volumes from 2021.

“Naturally, the COVID-19 pandemic has been tough. Our passenger traffic suffered a lot and practically stopped in March 2020 due to travel restrictions and people staying at home during lockdown,” notes Ville Haapasaari, CEO of the Port of Helsinki.

“This resulted in a significant drop in our turnover, and we had to do much cost cutting, but passenger traffic is now clearly bouncing back and the expectations for this year are high. Our market share of Finnish maritime passenger traffic is almost 80 percent.”

Container traffic, meanwhile, has remained strong in the cargo sector, with a record total of 15.2 million tonnes of goods transported via the Port of Helsinki in 2022.

An important hub for cargo logistics and Finland’s security of supply, the Port of Helsinki has a significant positive impact on the country’s economy and employment.

“We saw only a quick drop in cargo volumes in 2020, but thereafter we have been on an upwards growth path. Naturally, global problems in container traffic had a negative effect on us, but that was compensated by strong growth in roll-on, roll-off (Ro-Ro) traffic,” informs Haapasaari, who has always been interested in logistics and shipping having worked practically his whole career in the field.

Port Of Helsinki Values

RESPONSIBILITY – The Port of Helsinki works responsibly, respects the environment, and ensures Finland’s security of supply. It takes responsibility for its port community in order to promote the success of its customers. Safety forms the basis of the port’s operations, taking into account the occupational safety culture, passenger and cargo security, traffic safety of harbour areas as well as reputation management.

COOPERATION – Working together with customers and the companies operating at the port in order to achieve its goals, the Port of Helsinki develops its working community in order to make it supportive and interactive, while making sure to respect each other’s work.

EFFECTIVENESS – The Port of Helsinki is committed to the clear qualitative and financial objectives set for its operations. It focuses on the essentials and the effectiveness of its operations, measures the success of its work, and develops and reforms its operations in order to achieve better results.

As CEO, Haapasaari saw an opportunity to make use of his work experience and develop the port’s operations, improving Finland’s connectivity to the rest of the world in terms of both passenger and cargo traffic.

Bringing People And Goods Together

Serving as a gateway for both cargo flows and people, the Port of Helsinki manages a total of eight harbours, six of which specialise in ferries and cruises, complemented by two cargo harbours for general traffic.

The port’s busiest line is between Helsinki and Tallinn, traversed by more than nine million passengers per year, followed by the Helsinki-Stockholm line.

“Our passenger volume in 2019 was over 12 million, of which 600,000 was from international cruise traffic. Naturally, due to our position in the capital, international cruise traffic to and from the Port of Helsinki far outnumbers any other city in Finland,” Haapasaari shares.

Fully owned by the City of Helsinki, the port’s revenue (approximately €100 million) is fairly evenly split between passenger and cargo traffic, the latter of which mostly comprises unitised cargo (lorries, trailers, containers).

“Our mission is to bring people and goods together to accelerate sustainable growth. For the coming years, our focus is on bouncing back and growing in a sustainable manner, ensuring safety and security in all of our operations,” outlines Haapasaari.

The Port of Helsinki aims to achieve carbon

KWH Logistics

KWH Logistics continues investing in cargo handling in Finnish ports

Moving and handling of goods as well as warehousing are the core of KWH Logistics’ operations. In addition to operating in ports, terminals, and factory areas, KWH Logistics offers forwarding services worldwide.

Thanks to rapid growth in recent years, KWH Logistics is the leading port operator in Finland with a handled annual volume of 16 million tonnes of goods. Through their subsidiaries, they are present in all major ports in Finland.

The port of Vuosaari, where KWH Logistics’ subsidiary Rauanheimo operates, is one of the company’s most important and largest ports.

“The aim is to grow in Vuosaari and develop operations constantly,” says KWH Logistics CEO Joakim Laxåback. Rauanheimo improves the competitiveness of its customers through clever, complete logistic solutions. Founded in 1884, Rauanheimo has gained thorough knowledge of port and maritime activities over the years. The company offers services in stevedoring, forwarding, ship agency, customs declaration, container traffic, general and bulk cargo handling. Rauanheimo also offers added-value services such as stuffing of containers, transport services, handling of goods at departure and arrival, documentation of the entire chain and customs clearance.

“Rauanheimo creates competitive logistics solutions that save customers time and costs. By outsourcing their logistics operations to us, customers can sleep well at night,” comments Tero Kosonen, CEO at Rauanheimo. “We are willing and able to invest into the newest sustainable technology and through that offer competitive advantages to our customers.” www.kwhlogistics.com

Close collaboration with customers allows Rauanheimo’s dedicated team of professionals to develop tailored solutions that add genuine value to our customers’ logistics operations.