seatec - Finnish marine technology review 2/2014 | Page 4

PUBLISHER PubliCo Oy Pälkäneentie 19 A FI-00510 Helsinki Finland Phone +358 9 686 6250 [email protected] www.publico.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jussi Sinkko editorial seatec 2/2014 COME TOGETHER The Finnish marine cluster is certainly an interesting industry. Presently, it has been reported that the German shipyard Meyer Werft is looking to buy the Turku shipyard from its South Korean owner, STX Europe. According to the plans, also the State of the Finland would be involved in a small ownership role, helping to secure the deal. The Finnish marine cluster is finding other ways to cope in a brave new world, too. Losing the building of Oasis 3 to the French shipyard Saint Nazaire was a tough pill to swallow – for Finns it was hard to grasp why the owner would break up a winning team. After all, the first two Oasis ships were hailed as a “superinnovation of the seven seas”. PROJECT MANAGER Jaakko Lätti However, as the dust settled, Finnish companies realised that they can well take their expertise and offer it to Saint Nazaire. Latest Finnish involvement with the mega project was announced EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Liisa Hyvönen at the end of March as Metso received an order from STX France to supply an advanced vessel-wide automation system to Oasis 3. This deal did not materialise out of thin air: Metso has a long track record GRAPHIC DESIGN Riitta Yli-Öyrä of supplying automation technologies to Royal Caribbean International’s cruise vessels over the years. More good news for the industry emerged during Easter, as Arctech CONTRIBUTORS Sami J. Anteroinen Merja Kihl Ari Mononen Helsinki Shipyard secured a contract to build an icebreaking supply vessel for the Russia’s largest shipping company Sovcomflot. The new vessel will be built for the North East Sakhalin Offshore region oil and gas field where she will be used as a platform supply vessel for Sakhalin Energy COVER PHOTO STX Europe Investment Company Ltd. Helsinki Shipyard has already started work on the project and the vessel will be delivered to the client in June 2016. The total value of the PRINTED BY PunaMusta Oy order is about EUR 100 million. Arctech Helsinki Shipyard has commented that, with this order, the company confirms its position as leading builder of arctic offshore vessels – and the deal offers further proof that the Finnish-Russian collaboration formula is a winner. When Arctech launched its operations three years ago, there was skepticism whether the Russians could deliver orders with sufficient scope and frequency. Despite rough seas in the global economy, those crucial orders have been coming in as promised. With success stories in the South and in the East, the message for the industry players is clear enough: internationalisation is the only way out of a tight spot. Will this trend reach its peak with a summer announcement of Turku shipyard changing ownership once again? – We have to wait and see. All rights reserved. This publication may not be used in whole or in part to prepare or compile other directories or mailing lists without the written permission of the publisher. Measures have been taken in the preparation of this publication to assist the publisher protect its copyright. Any unauthorized use of the data herein will result in immediate legal proceeding. www.seatec.fi/magazine JUSSI SINKKO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF