Page 96: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 1998)

Always well-regarded for delivering advanced technological solutions, Aker's recent acquisition of the Rauma-based Finnyards promises to help the yard extend its delivery of tailored niche solutions.

Clearing the path with innovation

By David Tinsley, technical editor

The level of Finland's contribution to innovative maritime technology and product quality is equivalent to that of countries of far greater eco- nomic and industrial size. It is a reflection of the country's essential propensity towards higher value-added activities, and of its unerring endeavors to maintain a technological edge in targeted fields. The cur- rent success in attracting a high volume of capital-intensive cruise ship newbuild work to Finnish yards has an enormous, positive knock-on effect for the maritime cluster as a whole. But an ability to continuously demonstrate versatility in providing solutions to specialized needs across-the-board, as regards shipbuilding, design, ship operating, engi- neering, systems and materials applications is the basis for sustained

Finnish competitiveness in generally difficult international markets.

One of Finland's central aims as a member of the European Union, which it joined at the start of 1995, is to bring a strengthened northern dimension to the EU's work. The marine sector is playing its part in this.

Jntil the break-up of the Soviet Union, Finnish yards, designers and narine equipment producers played a prominent role in the construction f cargo ships, icebreakers and other vessels purpose-built for the North- 5 ern Sea Route.

Despite the contraction in tonnage demand from Russia, Finland's maintenance of the wherewithal for Arctic maritime technology, and its operational as well as design and production capabilities, place it in a strong position to meet the needs of future projects arising from the exploitation of resources in northern Russia and its ice-bound Arctic waters. The enormous oil and gas reserves of the Barents Sea and the mineral deposits in the north are of long-term strategic importance to a

European market characterized by a huge, overall dependence on exter- nal supplies of energy and raw materials. Adeptness at developing poten- tially cost-acceptable transportation solutions for such environments is a

Finnish strongpoint. Today, newbuild activity is concentrated within and around two companies, Kvaerner Masa-Yards and Aker Finnyards, both owned by Norwegian industrial groups.

While Finland's share of global shipbuilding production is a modest two percent, its output is typically in the upper echelons of the business as regards unit values and levels of technical sophistication. Moreover, the penetration of certain capital-intensive sectors is high, as with the 20 percent-plus stake in the worldwide cruise ship construction market.

The propensity of Aker Finnyards for diverse, tailor-made projects, at

Maritime Reporter/Engineering News