
''Freedom of the Seas'' under construction in February 2006, surrounded by
sea ice
The 'Finnish Maritime Cluster' is a
cluster of companies in
maritime industries in
Finland. In
2001 the total turnover was estimated at 11.4 billion
Euros with 47,000 people employed in
shipbuilding and related industries.
History
Small trading ships similar to
Jacobstads Wapen were built in Finnish coastal towns in the 18th century. The first large scale
shipyard was the
galley dry dock at
Sveaborg built in the mid
18th century, which serviced the ships that won one of the
largest sea battles in history.
Soviet trade
A major boost to Finnish shipbuilding was the
war reparations paid to the
Soviet Union after
WW II. They forced a rapid
industrialization of Finland and the creation of a large
metal industry in addition to the traditional
papermaking and
forest industries.
Bilateral trade with the Soviet Union forced Finnish shipyards to build ships with a high percentage of total value of Finnish origin. All major components of the finished products needed to be produced domestically. The high percentage of domestic components continues even after the
collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the lucrative
trade deals. While ships built in other European shipyards are a collection of components from around
Europe and around the world,
cruise ships built in Finland can have over 90% of their total value in Finnish components and labor.
Major companies
★
Crichton-Vulcan, now Turku Repair Yard and Aker Finnyards
★
Aker Finnyards with shipyards in
Turku,
Helsinki and
Rauma
★
Rauma Repola
★
ABB, formerly
Strömberg, producer of ''
Azipod''
Azimuth thrusters
★
Hollming Group, now part of Aker Finnyards; producer of ''Aquamaster'' (now
Rolls Royce)
Z-drive Azimuth thrusters
★
Kone Corporation
★
★
Cargotec (Split from KONE in 2005, formerly Navire Cargo Gear and MacGregor) provides cargo-handling solutions.
★
Wärtsilä Diesel provides maritime
diesel engines.
★
★
Sanitec, a former subsidiary of Wärtsilä, provides
closed loop sanitation systems.
★
Steerprop,
Rauma, Azimuth Propulsors
Ships
Icebreakers
★
MS Fennica and MS Nordica
★
Nuclear powered icebreakers
[1]
★
★
NS ''Taimyr'' (1989)
★
★ NS
''Vaigach'' (1990)
★
MV Sampo (1961)
Submarines
★
MIR (submersible)
★
''Vesikko''
Cruise liners
★
Genesis class (2009, 220,000 tons)
★
Freedom Class (158,000 tons)
★
Voyager class (142,000 tons)
★
Spirit class (85,700 tons)
★
Vision Class (81,500 tons)
★
Fantasy class (70,390 tons)
★
Royal Princess (44,348 tons, 1984)
★
Song of Norway (1970)
Cruiseferries
★
M/S Color Fantasy (2004)
★
M/S Silja Symphony (1991)
★
M/S Silja Serenade (1990)
★
GTS Finnjet (1977)
Warships
★
Ilmarinen (1931), first battleship with a
diesel-electric drive
★
Hamina class missile boat
★
Tuuli class hovercraft
External links
★
Finnish Maritime Society :: The Finnish Maritime Cluster Study
★
THE FINNISH MARITIME CLUSTER 2003
★
Aker Yards
★
Developing bigger and better cruise ships at hightechfinland.com