A new appointment to the Rauma Marine Constructions Oy management team came into force on May 1, 2020.

Mika Laurilehto, M.Sc. (Tech) has been appointed as the company’s Chief Sales Officer and member of the Management Team. Laurilehto transferred to the role of Sales Director from the German shipbuilding company MV Werften, where he worked in a managerial position overseeing project and network development, and design and engineering. Prior to this he served as the Managing Director of the ship design company Deltamarin.

Despite the exceptional circumstances due to the coronavirus pandemic, the construction of the Aurora Botnia, Wasaline’s new car and passenger ferry, is progressing according to schedule. 

“We are starting to put together the last blocks and the construction of the hull, as well as the fitting of the machine rooms and car decks, is proceeding at a rapid pace. A total of seven of Aurora Botnia’s blocks will be delivered from Gdansk in Poland, of which three arrived at the end of April. We are currently fitting the blocks that were delivered,” says Johanna Kaijo, Project Manager of the newbuilding NB6002.

Construction of the cabins has also begun in Rauma. The vessel’s bow gate will be delivered to the shipyard in August, along with other equipment including side doors and a moving car deck.

In addition to RMC’s own staff, there are approximately 400 persons from RMC’s network, representing some ten different nationalities, working on the Wasaline project. The COVID-19 situation has posed additional challenges to the staffing of extra and rotating employees.

“We hope that the decisions made by the Finnish government on Monday, May 4, regarding the ease of labour movement will help this situation,” says Jyrki Heinimaa, President and CEO, Rauma Marine Constructions.

“Our vessel will be the world’s most environmentally friendly car and passenger ferry. It has been a pleasure to follow its construction and to witness how well the project has been advancing. The excellent degree of cooperation between the shipyard and its subcontractors is evident at all stages and the construction is going forward according to schedule despite the challenges,” comments Peter Ståhlberg, Managing Director of Wasaline.

The next significant phase in the construction of Aurora Botnia is the launch of the vessel in the autumn.

Rauma Marine Constructions continues to design and build ships despite the global coronavirus pandemic. The production of Tallink’s new shuttle ferry MyStar began at Rauma shipyard on Monday, April 6, 2020.

Tallink’s new car and passenger ferry will be the largest ship built at the Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) shipyard in Rauma, Finland yet. Making use of cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions, the ship will be energy efficient and will have a dual-fuel solution that can use liquified natural gas (LNG), a fuel with lower emissions. The vessel’s advanced, certified electric propulsion system allows the ship to operate energy-efficiently in all circumstances at speeds of up to 27 knots.

“We are proud to start the construction of MyStar, a new vessel which continues the tradition of building ships with our important customer, Tallink Grupp. This will be the seventh ferry built for Tallink at Rauma. Together, we are developing increasingly environmentally friendly shipping between Finland and Estonia,” said Jyrki Heinimaa, President and CEO of RMC.

RMC aims to be the leading builder of car and passenger ferries in Europe. According to Heinimaa, building Tallink’s vessel supports this objective.

Tallink MyStar is valued at around EUR 250 million. The vessel will be approximately 212 metres long and will have a gross tonnage of approximately 50,000. It will be able to accommodate around 3,000 passengers and crew members in total, and will have a freight capacity of 1,900 lane metres for lorries and other vehicles. The ferry will provide over 1,500 person-years of employment for the shipyard. MyStar will operate between Helsinki, Finland, and Tallinn, Estonia. The building project will consider the vessel’s operating profile, efficient functionality for large numbers of passengers and vehicles, as well as passenger comfort.

Economies rely on shipping

 “The world around us has recently changed beyond recognition and all around us we only see shut-downs, challenges and closure. Our group, too, is facing challenges, but we are working hard to get through the current situation and are continuing to focus on the future. And one of the key future projects already underway before the crisis was the construction project of our new shuttle, MyStar – one of  the most eco-friendly ships on the Baltic Sea. I am therefore pleased to say today that we are able to start this new project in cooperation with our long-standing partner, Rauma shipyard,” said Paavo Nõgene, CEO of Tallink Grupp.

“During this intense challenging period, we see, more than ever, how much our economies rely on dependable, sustainable and eco-friendly ships, and the importance of vital shipping routes remaining open. At Tallink, this makes our commitment to building and operating the most innovative and most sustainable ships on the Baltic sea even stronger,” Nõgene stated.

Rauma shipyard is taking action to prevent the spread of the coronavirus

 Rauma shipyard has taken sizeable measures to maintain operations and to prevent the spreading of the coronavirus. Personnel and network partners are actively informed, more work is done remotely, online workspaces are being developed and personnel are supported in a challenging situation. Cleanliness and tidiness are emphasised throughout the company. In production, the focus is on developing safe ways of working in close cooperation with network partners.

“Our primary objective is to ensure the health and safety of our personnel and partners. We are also aiming to minimise the impact the coronavirus will have on our production and finances. There is plenty of work to be done, as long as employees and materials can move. The shipyard is in full swing,” says Jyrki Heinimaa.

Photo: The production of RMC’s newbuilding NB6003 Tallink MyStar started today at Rauma Shipyard. RMC’s President and CEO Jyrki Heinimaa and project manager Marko Paloluoto started the production with traditional steel cutting.

Rauma Marine Constructions’ (RMC) order book surpassed EUR 1 billion in 2019. The Finnish marine industry is doing well: revenue increased by nearly 10% in 2018. The Rauma shipyard is currently constructing car and passenger ferries, and government vessels, but the shipyard might also become involved in the renewing of the fleet of icebreakers operating in the Gulf of Bothnia. One option for renewing the fleet would be a joint effort between Finland and Sweden, as the two countries share the sea-lanes where ice needs to be broken for winter navigation.

Business is booming at the Rauma shipyard. According to Timo Suistio, Deputy CEO, RMC, the 2020s will be a decade of car and passenger (RoPax) ferries and government vessels.

RMC’s order book contains two RoPax ferries and four multipurpose corvettes for the Finnish Defence Forces. Additionally, RMC and Australian TT-Line Company recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding for two new car and passenger ferries, which will operate under the brand Spirit of Tasmania.

Furthermore, Finland and Sweden’s potential joint effort to replace the icebreakers operating in the Gulf of Bothnia was discussed at a seminar on current affairs organised by RMC for its stakeholders on Tuesday, 3 March.

“The production status at the Rauma shipyard would enable us to build icebreakers for Finland and Sweden. I see this as a big opportunity to develop the Finnish Maritime Cluster, especially in terms of innovation,” says Suistio.

Icebreakers could be replaced in cooperation with Sweden

Innovativeness is the Finnish marine industry’s best asset in international markets. The industry’s targets for reducing carbon emissions, for example, has created a high demand for innovative thinking.

“There are 14 environmentally-friendly vessels under construction in Finland. This trend will grow globally as well, which will create an abundance of opportunities for us,” says Tiina Tuurnala, CEO, Finnish Shipowners’ Association.

Sweden is now planning to renew its fleet of icebreakers. In Sweden, it is thought that the new vessels must meet the strict climate targets set for the 2050s. However, there are currently no existing solutions for such vessels that could help reach these future emission targets.

“We need to develop new solutions. In Finland, public procurements have always been spearheads for industrial innovations and success,” states Mikko Niini, Chairman of the Board, RMC.

Niini underscores the need for cooperation between Finland and Sweden in procuring new icebreakers because the two countries have already agreed to cooperate in matters related to icebreaking. The countries made the agreement in the 1970s, when they decided to maintain fairways free of ice to enable winter navigation in the Bay of Bothnia.

“Sweden is already moving ahead with its icebreaker project. It’s time for Finland to plan and decide on the key players and the schedule for the procurement. The Rauma shipyard is fully prepared to lead the icebreaker project and carry it out together with our network,” says Niini.

The Finnish Maritime Cluster’s revenue is expected to soon surpass EUR 15 billion

According to Tapio Karvonen, Senior Researcher at the University of Turku’s Brahea Centre, the Finnish Maritime Cluster’s key figures for 2018 reveal that the marine industry is booming. The Maritime Cluster’s revenue surpassed EUR 14 billion in 2018.

“We don’t have the numbers for 2019 yet, but the strong growth suggests that the revenue will exceed EUR 15 billion,” adds Karvonen.

Most of the Maritime Cluster’s revenue was generated by marine industry players, whose total revenue was slightly above EUR 9 billion. The marine industry grew 9.8% from 2017. With an average of 30% growth, the seven largest shipyards in Finland grew even faster.

The marine industry employed more than 30,000 people in 2018, which is an increase of 5.6% from 2017.

“Shipyards and other marine industry players have a remarkable economic impact on Finland in terms of both revenue and employment. The impact has grown fast in recent years, and the growth continues. Moreover, this is not just a regional phenomenon, but the impact can be seen across the country,” says Karvonen.