CANADA TO THE RESCUE
EDITORIAL
2 / 2023
CANADA TO THE RESCUE
The Helsinki Shipyard was in dire straits due to its Russian ownership . While there were no sanctions leveled against the owners themselves , the shipyard ’ s plans to sell vessels to Russia dried up immediately as Russia attacked Ukraine .
In November 2023 , it was announced that the Canadian marine industrial group Davie has finalized the acquisition of the assets of Finland ’ s Helsinki Shipyard Oy ( HSO ). According to media reports , the deal had been in the works for about a year .
The completion of the transaction is the culmination of a series of milestones , beginning in December 2022 . In March 2023 , Davie exercised an exclusive option to purchase the assets of HSO . This was followed in April by the signing of a business purchase agreement , and in July Davie secured a new 50-year land lease from the City of Helsinki .
Group Davie owns Davie Shipbuilding , Canada ’ s largest shipbuilder . Helsinki Shipyard , on the other hand , is the world ’ s leading icebreaker and ice-class shipbuilder . Together , the companies certainly have the capability to design , build and maintain mission-critical ships – icebreakers , obviously , but also warships and ferries for government and commercial customers .
According to the deal , the Canadian and Finnish shipyards will be separate legal and operating entities , while the business headquarters will remain in Québec . Davie hopes that the transaction will create opportunities for employees , encourage collaboration , facilitate the transfer of know-how , provide access to resources , and stimulate export potential .
Kim Salmi , Managing Director for Helsinki Shipyard , calls the transaction “ the best possible news ” for the shipyard , its workforce and supply chain . Salmi notes that now , after months of planning , the shipyard ’ s top priority is to rapidly return to doing what it does best – designing and building world-class ships quickly , efficiently and costeffectively .
The details of the business purchase agreement are confidential . However , a significant proportion of the assembled funds will go to ensuring that the shipyard has working capital while it gets up and running and secures new business .
For the purposes of landing the deal , it was also important that the Canadian government looks favorably on the potential synergies resulting from the transaction – especially , since construction of icebreakers is a big priority in Canada ’ s National Shipbuilding Strategy .
Combining forces , it is likely that Davie and HSO can deliver the critical expertise so in demand by state and commercial customers . Renowned for their leadership and expert knowledge in clean energy solutions , they also seek to contribute to the creation of more sustainable ocean-going fleet .
PUBLISHER PubliCo Oy Pälkäneentie 19 A FI-00510 Helsinki Finland Phone + 358 20 162 2200 info @ publico . com www . publico . com
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Petri Charpentier
PROJECT MANAGER Paul Charpentier
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Liisa Hyvönen
GRAPHIC DESIGN Riitta Yli-Öyrä
CONTRIBUTORS Sami J . Anteroinen Ari Mononen
COVER PHOTO Port of Helsinki / Sanna Liimatainen
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ISSN 1239-5803 ( print ) ISSN 2737-2006 ( online )
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PETRI CHARPENTIER www . seatec . fi / magazine
4 seatec 2 / 2023