Port of Helsinki, Finland – ESPO award winner 2010
Cycling tours in the port of Helsinki
“We want Helsinki to be a magnetic passenger port as well as a significant cruise traffic port in the heart of the city and, at the same time, a good and attractive place to live in,” explained the port’s MD Heikki Nissinen.
The issues faced by the port are related to environment in different ways. The animation of the city centre is one of the central attractions of Helsinki and the port wants to maintain passenger traffic in the city centre as part of its lively city image.
“Our passenger port is right in the heart of the city and we intend to stay right here rather than move out of town. It’s good to keep in mind that nearly 10 million passengers using our terminals a year generate a huge amount of wealth for the city. But staying is a challenge, and we have found a need for new solutions to mitigate the impact of ships bringing in waste and passenger traffic” explains Eeva Hietanen.
So, Helsinki has built berths with wastewater facilities that visiting ships can use - at no extra cost. “It’s important to us that we encourage visiting vessels and further, we have a garbage collection facility, run in conjunction with local enterprise,” says Ms Hietanen.
In Helsinki, public support has been largely won by paying attention to the environment and keeping a tight communication with the city residents. For example, air quality indicator results can be monitored in real time on the port’s website and feedback can be given at all hours of the day.
The port also regularly organises large public events (from bird watching to the Herring Market) as well as giving people the possibility of exploring parts of the port. In this way, says Mr Nissinen, it gains public interest as well as giving a face to operations.
And there are other initiatives that involve the residents associations and educational institutions that are as diverse as port visits, lectures and photography exhibitions. The port also participates in different co-operation forums with different city related organisations, such as a project for developing cruise-tourism related service selection and infrastructure.
The Chequered Harbour project, which the port is also involved with, has set as its goal the strengthening of the appeal of the city centre as well as connecting the city area and passenger port more efficiently as a part of the city centre’s structure, with public marine spaces and walking paths.
“We try to demonstrate that we are, actually, quite well regulated, and at the same time show residents and visitors the human face of the port,” adds Ms Hietanen.
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