seatec - Finnish marine technology review 1/2019 | Page 4

EDITORIAL 1/2019 BACK ON TRACK While the biggest buzz surrounding Finnish maritime has involved the Turku shipyard, there has been a stream of positive news from the neighbouring shipyard of Rauma, as well. Since breaking away from STX in 2014, Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) has quickly made a name for itself as a capable builder and project manager. In November 2018, the wholly Finnish-owned shipbuilding company signed a letter of intent with Finnish Defence Forces PUBLISHER PubliCo Oy Pälkäneentie 19 A FI-00510 Helsinki Finland Phone +358 20 162 2200 [email protected] www.publico.com Logistics Command for the construction of four corvettes for the Finnish Navy. The contract for the construction of the vessels will be signed in early 2019. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Petri Charpentier Earlier, in October, RMC and Tallink announced a letter of intent for a new high-speed car and passenger ferry between PROJECT MANAGER Helsinki and Tallinn. RMC promises it can deliver on simultaneous Jaakko Lätti orders: according to the plan, Tallink’s car and passenger ship will be delivered at the end of 2021, and the construction of the EDITORIAL COORDINATOR corvettes will begin in 2020 and last until 2027. The commercial Liisa Hyvönen vessels and the corvettes are to be built alongside one another, but kept completely separate as there are, for instance, various security reasons to consider. GRAPHIC DESIGN Riitta Yli-Öyrä In the light of these news, it’s no big surprise that Rauma Marine Constructions is currently seeking more employees. The company expects to grow significantly in the coming years due to its new orders – and the eventual goal is to become a world-leading CONTRIBUTORS Sami J. Anteroinen Ari Mononen shipyard. Also the entire Finnish maritime cluster seems to be pursuing growth opportunities presently. In August 2018, a new maritime COVER PHOTO Meyer Turku Oy business accelerator programme started in Finland in order to add some startup smarts to – already formidable – industry muscle. In Maritime Accelerator, traditional maritime industry players PRINTED BY PunaMusta Oy operating on global markets – such as shipyards, design agencies and shipping companies – search for new ideas and partnerships among smaller growth companies. The ideas may be related to, for instance, material and sensor technologies, robotics, sustainable development, or logistics solutions. The partner companies in the first programme are Wärtsilä, fresh brains will probably help, too. 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. PETRI CHARPENTIER www.seatec.fi/magazine Royal Caribbean, Meyer Turku, Foreship, NAPA Group, and CADMATIC, all of them representing the leading edge in the world in their respective fields. The accelerator programme is implemented by the regional development company Turku Science Park. The Finnish maritime cluster doesn’t really need a dictionary to distinguish between ‘pilot’ and ‘pivot,’ since innovation is very much the lifeblood of the entire industry. Still, bringing in some 4 seatec 1/2019