Fairway Forward, the Finnish-Swedish maritime collaboration in Helsinki – together we are stronger!

23. October 2024

The yearly Fairway Forward collaboration event between the Finnish and Swedish maritime clusters attracted a big crowd once again, this time hosted by Finland in Helsinki. The agenda was packed with current issues.

The seminar featured case presentations by leading industry companies and authorities from both countries. The first part of the seminar focused on green transition and deployment of new technologies. The presentations highlighted electric vessel development, carbon capture and green port ecosystems. Green shipping corridors between Finland and Sweden are a good example of cooperation between innovative maritime companies, ports, shipowners and authorities on both sides. New Finnish-Swedish green corridors are emerging between Turku and Stockholm and Vaasa and Umeå.

The safety situation in the Baltic Sea was the topic of the panel discussion, which highlighted the shared concerns about GPS jamming and the shadow fleet sailing in the Baltic Sea. Again, cooperation between authorities and navy on both sides of the gulf was seen as vital in battling safety concerns.

Winter navigation and the challenges and opportunities of icebreaking today became the theme of a lively discussion. Various actors praised the ice breaking cooperation and the communication between the countries. Flexibility of ice-breaking services and vessels is an important factor for competitiveness in our icy waters.

In conclusion, continued good cooperation and collaboration between Finland and Sweden across-the-board is the key to success. Thank you to all participants! Next year the seminar will be held in Sweden.

 

Anders Hermansson, Swedish Shipowners’ Association and Tiina Tuurnala, Finnish Shipowners’ Association.

 

Per Tunell, Wallenius.

 

Sanna Sonninen, Traficom, Björn Blomqvist, Rederiaktiebolaget Eckerö, Lars Höglund, Furetank and Heikki Vierelä, Finnish Navy.

 

Fairway Forward is a collaboration between the Finnish and Swedish maritime clusters established in 2019. The collaboration aims to share best practices and work together to reach environmental and climate goals in the maritime sector. Participating organizations in Fairway Forward are Swedish Shipowners´ Association, Swedish Ports, Finnish Shipowners´ Association, Finnish Marine Industries, and Finnish Ports’ Association, together with the Finnish Port Operators Association.

 

More information:

Tiina Tuurnala, CEO

+358 40 547 6762 / tiina.tuurnala@shipowners.fi