Finland Oy News

Excelerate Energy's floating storage and regasification unit (“FSRU”) Exemplar arrived at the port of Inkoo, Finland on December 28, 2022. The FSRU was previously loaded with a partial cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) which will serve as the initial commissioning cargo for the terminal."The FSRU Exemplar, which is chartered to Gasgrid Finland Oy (“Gasgrid”) for a period of ten years, will provide flexible, reliable, and secure delivery of regasified LNG to Finland and other Baltic countries," the FSRU owner said.

A consortium of maritime industry stakeholders has set out to develop a higher performing and more environmentally efficient container vessel. The group, which is led by Dubai based Zaitoun Green Shipping Ltd (ZGS), also aims at creating a new business model for the container sector.The seven companies making up the consortium are each established experts in their own fields. The parties have agreed to establish a team where each member company has an important role to play in…

Wärtsilä is building a new center of research, product development and production, in Vaskiluoto, Vaasa. As of 2020, all of Wärtsilä's functions and personnel in central Vaasa will transfer to the new Smart Technology Hub, along with the logistics and maintenance workshop operations from Runsor.As a part of the project, Wärtsilä will invest 83 million euros in modern testing and production technology for the hub. The total investment in the Smart Technology Hub will be in the region of 200 million euros…

Minelayer vessel Pansio has been fully refitted and handed over to the Finnish Navy, following a midlife upgrade carried out by ATLAS ELEKTRONIK Finland Oy (AEFI ) together with Uki Workboat Oy (Uudenkaupungin Työvene Oy) as a subcontractor. Pansio is the first of three Pansio-class minelayers, including Porkkala and Pyhäranta, to undergo refit which aims to extend the use of the ships well into the 2030s. The machinery, satellite communications and light weapons systems required for the minelayers were purchased from abroad since there is no Finnish manufacturer.

A new global challenge and a compliance monitoring market are emerging, due to tightening environmental regulations. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, Tampere University of Technology and the University of Turku have joined forces in an international project – Shipping Emissions in the Arctic – with the aim of making the measurement of black carbon emissions from shipping more reliable. The initial results show that engine loads and fuel types have a major impact on black carbon emissions from ships.

Innovation, superior technology and competitiveness are the characteristics that have brought the Finnish maritime industry world repute. Its well-knit maritime cluster responsible for achieving a high level of production has propelled it into prominence in the global market. Extreme conditions during winter have set technological and quality demands on Finnish shipping which, in turn has contributed towards the emergence of a competitive maritime industry in Finland. The Finnish Maritime and Offshore Cluster (incl. Marine industries, shipping and port operations in private and public sectors) is one of the central industries in the Finnish technology industries.

ALMACO Group has received multi-site certifications for ISO 14001:2004, for implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS), and OHSAS 18001:2007, for developing Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) management systems, in compliance with the international standards. The certifications cover ALMACO’s products and services comprising engineering, procurement, construction, total project management, maintenance and on site installations for accommodation and food handling areas in living quarters, offshore installations and floating accommodation units.

Arctech Helsinki Shipyard is now 100 percent Russian-owned as United Shipbuilding Corporation bought the remaining half of the company’s shares from STX Finland Oy. Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Inc. was founded in December 2010 as United Shipbuilding Corporation bought the first 50 percent of the shipyard shares from STX Finland, a subsidiary of the Korean-owned STX Europe. The joint venture was established to respond to the need of growing market of Arctic shipbuilding and to unite the Finnish and Russian maritime clusters.

German cruise ship builder strengthens its yards. MEYER WERFT joins forces with the STX Finland shipyard in Turku. Following weeks of negotiations the Finnish Government and MEYER WERFT signed a share purchase agreement with the current owner STX Europe. With its 70% stake MEYER WERFT takes the industrial leadership of the new company. At present some 1,300 employees and a specialized supplier network are involved in the construction of the cruise ship Mein Schiff 4 for the German cruise operator TUI Cruises from Hamburg.

On June 4, 2013, STX Finland and the Norwegian passenger ship company Fjord Line AS signed a contract on conversion of Fjord Line’s cruise ferry. The steel production for the conversion project began January 10, 2013. In connection with the rebuild of MS Bergensfjord, the ship was renamed MS Oslofjord. The overall value of the conversion contract was approximately EUR 30 million, and it provided some 200 man-years of labor. MS Oslofjord is 134 meters long and 24 meters wide, built in Norway in 1993.

On Thursday 22 May 2014, STX Finland Oy’s Turku Shipyard handed over the first newbuild to TUI Cruises. Mein Schiff 3 is a sophisticated and highly innovative cruise ship, designed for the German premium-class cruise market. With the production started in November 2012, the environmentally friendly Mein Schiff 3 was floated out in November 2013. The ship provided some 5,500 man-years of labour to the shipyard and the network. Mein Schiff 3 will start operating on 13 June 2014, with the maiden voyage starting from Hamburg and heading for Palma de Mallorca.

On Friday May 9, 2014, STX Finland Oy’s Rauma Shipyard handed over a next-generation offshore patrol vessel to the Finnish Border Guard. The vessel was christened Turva by her godmother, Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen, in the christening and float-out ceremony held on August 2, 2013. The technically advanced and highly versatile 96 meters long and 17 meters wide offshore patrol vessel will be used for frontier supervision, maritime search and rescue (SAR), environmental protection and monitoring of natural resources…

On 25 February 2014, approximately nine months after the keel laying of TUI Cruises’ first newbuilding Mein Schiff 3, TUI Cruises and STX Finland celebrated the keel laying of Mein Schiff 4 in the Turku shipyard. Following the old shipbuilding tradition, the lucky coins were placed under the keel block of the ship. In the lucky coin ceremony, held on the bottom of the drydock, the shipowner was represented by Richard J. Vogel, CEO of TUI Cruises, CFO Frank Kuhlmann, Chief Engineer of Mein Schiff 3 Kostas Kallinikos and the designated Captain of Mein Schiff 3 Kjell Holm.

A Finland government owned investment company, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd, has today purchased a 66.4 per cent majority stake of the shares of Aker Arctic Technology Oy (Aker Arctic) from STX Finland Oy. Aker explain that In recent months the Ministry of Employment and the Economy has been studying actively the possibilities for securing the Company's know-how and further development in Finland. The transfer of the Company´s know-how, such as intellectual property rights, away from Finland, would have meant a serious setback for the entire Finnish Arctic marine industry's future development. Aker Arctic is one of the world's leading companies in Arctic marine logistics and offshore solutions as well Arctic vessels design.

The float-out of Mein Schiff 3, an environmentally friendly cruise ship being built for TUI Cruises, was performed at STX Turku Shipyard on Friday, November 8, 2013. At the press conference held at STX Finland Oy’s Turku Shipyard earlier the same day, Richard J. Vogel, CEO of TUI Cruises and Jari Anttila, Deputy CEO of STX Finland Oy were pleased to speak about the important milestone Mein Schiff 3 project reached on that particular day. One year ago, the start of production of newbuilding 1383 was celebrated at Turku Shipyard. Mein Schiff 3 is scheduled for delivery in spring 2014.

STX Finland has been actively seeking solutions for saving the Finnish shipyard industry. In September 2013, the company launched a major restructuring aimed at safeguarding the operating potential of the company and, by extension, the entire maritime industry in Finland, thus ending the years of uncertainty. As part of the STX Finland Oy restructuring, cooperation negotiations concerning the Rauma and Turku Shipyards have been conducted between the personnel groups and the company management. The negotiations were completed on October 29, 2013.

Rapp Hydema has been supplying deck machinery to research vessels since 1977, but this global market recently became especially significant for the group. In 2002, in what would be a watershed project, Rapp Hydema was chosen to outfit the NOAA Fishery Survey Vessel (FSV) Oscar Dyson class of vessels. The first four ships in the class were being constructed at VT Halter Marine Shipyard. “That NOAA research vessel contract provided us with excellent exposure,” said Johann Sigurjonsson, President of Rapp Hydema U.S.

The keel of the offshore patrol vessel being built for the Finnish Border Guard was laid at STX Finland Oy’s Rauma Shipyard. The event was witnessed by representatives of STX Finland, Finnish Border Guard, classification society and media. Scheduled for delivery in November 2013, the 96 meter long and 17 meter wide vessel uses some of the latest technologies and environmentally friendly innovations in accordance with the Government decision-in-principle on sustainable public procurement. The vessel is equipped with machinery using liquefied natural gas (LNG) and diesel as fuel.

On Thursday 10 January 2013, STX Finland Oy’s Turku shipyard delivered a next-generation cruise ferry to Viking Line ABP. Building of the environmentally friendly M/S Viking Grace started at the STX Turku shipyard in September 2011 and the ship was floated out in August 2012. The ship provided some 2,600 man-years of labour to the shipyard. M/S Viking Grace will enter traffic on the Turku (Finland) – Åland Islands – Stockholm (Sweden) route on 15 January 2013. M/S Viking Grace is the most environmentally friendly large cruise vessel ever built, using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as fuel. The ship’s emissions into the sea have been eliminated, and emissions into the air are remarkably lower than those of any other large passenger ships.

Scandlines and STX Finland Oy have today signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for building two new ferries for the route Rostock (Germany) – Gedser (Denmark) for delivery in spring 2015. The project will bring some 1000 man-years of work for STX Finland and its subcontracting network. The ferries will be double ended and construction will allow the ferries to be used on the route Puttgarden (Germany) - Rødby (Denmark) as well. Each ferry will have a capacity of 1,300 passengers and 72 trucks or 382 cars. The ferries will be operating on environmentally friendly LNG instead of traditional heavy fuel, thus reducing emissions to the air significantly. Nitrogen emissions, CO2 and particulates are reduced remarkably and sulphur emissions are practically zero.

The offshore patrol vessel UVL10, currently being built for the Finnish Border Guard at STX Finland Oy’s Rauma shipyard, was named Turva at a festive naming and launching ceremony on Friday 2 August. Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen acted as godmother for the ship, wishing the vessel and its crew luck and success in their future maritime operations. In her speech as the ship’s godmother, Minister Räsänen stated that taking delivery of the ship is an important part of the preparation for the risks of increasing maritime transport and prevention of environmental damage…

As stated in the stock exchange release published on July 24, 2013, Konecranes starts new measures to reduce the company’s annual cost base by €30 million by the end of 2014. Konecranes will start statutory negotiations in Finland regarding possible temporary and permanent layoffs. It is estimated that the possible permanent personnel reductions in Finland will affect, at most, 90 employees. The reductions in personnel will be made through permanent reductions and early retirements, and by reducing the use of hired personnel and temporary employees. The statutory negotiations will affect all personnel at Konecranes Plc, Konecranes Finland Oy and Konecranes Service Oy in Finland.

The future dry cargo vessel must be able to adjust quickly to changing transportation needs. The Finnish industrial production structure is anticipated to change and therefore maritime transportation ought to be tighter integrated to production chains. The cargo ship must be versatile and flexible as the transportation needs and cargo types may change within short time intervals. In light of energy efficiency, LNG is considered the best near future marine fuel alternative. These results are presented in three individual Master´s thesis produced at Aalto University. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the Finnish international maritime transport volume development and change factors of the industrial and operational environment, an optimal future vessel concept was established.