SEAFOCUS LOGBOOK 2023

We thank you for the collaboration this year and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year 2024.

In addition to continuing our collaboration with the Finnish Marine Archeological Society and the Forum Marinum Museum Turku, we have decided to start supporting the Aalto University Junior Programme in 2024. More in our January Newsletter.

Happy Christmas!

From a Good Year to a Great One 

Since 2017 over 450 international students have passed the Intelligence Hunt talent programme, and 70+ Case Companies have joined with assignment and some of them many times. 

The 9th SeaFocus Annual Executive Meeting (SFAEM) and the Partner Dinner will be organised May 14th, 2024 in Turku at the Forum Marinum and at the restaurant Göran.

The 2nd SeaFocus Summit will be organised 9-10th October 2024 in Vaasa. The Summit consists of an exclusive visit to Wärtsilä’s Sustainability Technology Hub, an Intelligence Hunt Talent Show and programme on board M/S Aurora Botnia, sailing from Vaasa to Umeå and back. 

New Services - Business Intelligence Task Forces

New services of SeaFocus are on a piloting process. We have identified our ability to provide an ongoing “task force” for various expertise areas. The service is based on a small retainer guaranteeing the availability of our experts and business intelligence task forces on a short lead time. The two pilot "task force" areas are: Supply Chain Management and Maritime Safety and Security. If you wish to know more, contact our CEO Ulla Keino, Ulla.Keino@seafocus.international

We are experienced, highly professional logistics, supply chain management and maritime experts with great track records globally. Our mission is in finding synergies, sharing innovations and best practices, matching future talents and experienced professionals for the benefit of companies and industries. We build up, manage and execute future oriented projects, organise conferences and workshops and promote actively our partners.

SeaFocus is building up great networking events around the Navigate Maritime Trade Fair 2024. Tuesday 14.5. - Pre-Navigate Dinner, Wednesday 15.5. The Best Party in Town and Thursday 16.5. Navigate Talents & Future - Recruiting Party. Tickets available in advance.

Ocean Exchange hands out grants to innovative projects in the blue economy once a year. Companies can tender their ideas and an international evaluation committee reviews the projects in three stages, initial review, semi-finals, and finals. This year Poul Woodall, SeaFocus Senior Advisor was fortunate enough to be requested to join this evaluation committee. Ocean Exchange had been advised of his availability through my affiliation with SeaFocus, another organization that does a lot to promote the blue economy, not least among the young talents throughout Europe.

The maritime industry seems to have selected a tactic of “wait and see” in the light of constantly tightening regulations environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) regulations. Especially with the big “E”, as in environment, leading the discussion around sustainability. It remains to be seen if this tactic is the winner card or not.

The SeaFocus ESG Summit 2023, in the beginning of October, was a great learning experience for Markus Derry and we are sure for many others as well.

We had an internal SeaFocus meeting with our experts today. Great atmosphere in the meeting, everyone seems to be full of energy and a lot of good vibes and interesting prospects ahead. 

Today we had the final feedback meeting of Intelligence Hunt project with Gasum. The Talent Team was to study the LNG, Bio-LNG and e-LNG bunkering markets in the Northern Europe. "Green Bunkers" team with Lydia Ferrad, Vatsal Mandlesara and Kaung Thu presented their findnigs. We had a professional discussion on the development of the bunkering markets and effects of the regulations on the market today and in the future. This project has been finalised now. Thank you team - Excellent job! 

This year Poul Woodall, Senior Advisor and Expert on environmental issues represented SeaFocus at the Ocean Exchange October 22-24, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. He was a member of the evaluation team. This year there  were two winners from the US and one from Switzerland.

Winners of the 2023 Ocean Exchange Awards (Left to Right): Wallenius Wilhelmsen Orcelle®, Helix Power Corporation Kevin Blackman, Co-Founder; Transportation/Logistics Hub Award, Swiss Ocean Tech, Thomas Frizlen, Founder; and Neptune Award, REMORA Technical, Matt Newberry, President and Chief Engineer.

SeaFocus is a Co-Producer of the Navigate 2024 Maritime, Shipping and Shipbuilding Trade Fair with the Turku Trade Fair Center. Navigate2024 takes place in Turku 15.-16th May 2024. 

Throughout the week there will be attractive networking events and professional business activities in Turku and Naantali regions. 

SeaFocus has started to strengthen its expertise in international project management, supply chain excellence and e-commerce.

Lena Nelimarkka has over fifteen years of experience in various positions in Product Marketing, Business Operations and E-Commerce. She has a strong end to end business process and product marketing management experience of consumer and professional products in the Technology industry. 

The first SeaFocus SG & SCM Summit was a great success. The feedback we have received is overwhelming. 

We want to thank all our SeaFocus Partners, our sponsor Dassaul Systems, all participants, guest speakers and our next generation talents - you all made this possible! 

Check the photos and feel the atmosphere.

We had a brainstorming meeting with SeaFocus experts, mentors and advisors. Discussed the SeaFocus Summit and feedback and planned steps for the next year. 

The feedback from the Summit was very good and we were pleased about that. Even though there is always a place for improvement. 

At the Intelligence Hunt show Case assignment by the Hillebrand Gori was presented by the Talent team Hillebrand Gori. The case assignment was  about how to improve collection and analysis of ocean carrier data. The company is specializing in the logistics of wine, beer and spirits, in any quantity, along any route, across all modalities. 

At the Intelligence Hunt show Case assignment by Gasum was presented by the Talent Team "Green Bunkers". The Case was about the future of LNG, LBG and e-LNG. Today Gasum is a leading LNG and bio-LNG bunkering company in the Baltic Sea and North Sea area. 

By engaging students in this project, Gasum was looking for fresh ideas for developing a future bunker market offering. As a leading LNG bunker market player in Northern Europe, Gasum has a profound interest in developing future talent for the maritime market by offering students an opportunity to learn about maritime emission reduction alternatives and future maritime fuels and get their views on future success factors.

At the Intelligence Hunt show Case assignment of Finnpilot Pilotage Ltd, Fintraffic´s Vessel Traffic Services, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and Finnish Transport and Communication Agency, Traficom was presented by the Talent Team "Eureka". The project “Improving the Usage of Fairway Data for Different Users” and focused in commercial and recreational fairways as well as in new technologies. The idea was to investigate possibilities to improve the utilization of digital information from the fairways; static and changing information by different user groups and stakeholders, to identify additional services possible to create from the collected / available data and to identify new users and user groups. 

At the Intelligence Hunt show EUROMAR case was presented by the Talent Team "Maré". The project was about establishing a new service crew maritime safety training centre in Madeira for cruise and Ropax vessels. The idea was to create a feasible, realistic and future looking business plan for the service crew maritime safety training centre to Madeira. Highly skilled students with marketing and economical background working with the experts of EUROMAR and SeaFocus on the business plan will also support Madeira as a potential future location for working, studying and  living.

At the Intelligence Hunt show Inmarsat case was presented by the Talent Team "Safety First". The case was about examining data from Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) calls made to Inmarsat in order to provide insights into safety trends and reveal patterns at a local and global level. A better understanding of these patterns can help the maritime industry take proactive steps to prevent such incidents and help guide us to a safer future.

Festive dinner with the conference guests took place in the Naantali Kaivohuone. We heard greetings from the Port of Naantali, Yrjö Vainiala and keynote speech by Petteri Nurmi from the DB Schenker Cluster Nordics.

The evening was a great success spiced with live music by the House Band of University of Helsinki Law School Student Association Pykälä.

The introduction to the TEN-T network and the “Motorways of the Sea” concept by Escola Europea aims to improve transport management, introducing the concept of co-modality as a tool for improving the management of the logistics chain.

The training gathered almost 80 students in the Naantali Spa.

CONFERENCE PART 2: The Global Logistics Puzzle - Our Markets with 3 panels with top level experts representing different stakeholders of supply chain.

The themes of the afternoon session where: Sustainable Supply Chain, New Normal 2030 and Sourcing and Procurement of Goods, Services and Personnel

CONFERENCE PART 1: Impact of Recent Changes in the Business with 3 panels with top level experts representing different stakeholders of supply chain.

The themes of the morning session where: Future Energy, Shortage of Personnel and Changing Trade Patterns. 

Dassault Systèmes provides business and people with virtual universes to imagine sustainable innovations capable of harmonizing product, nature and life. We provide software solutions that allow customers to create innovative new products and services using virtual experiences. Our aim is to build a new development model to address the major challenges facing the world today.

We are pleased to welcome Markus Derry as a new crew member at SeaFocus. He will work as Head of PMO and report to CEO Ulla Keino. In addition, Markus will support selected consultancy projects in the role of Senior Consultant.

Markus has a Master of Science (M.Sc.)  in Technology degree from Aalto University. He has studied industrial management and civil engineering. This education background is a good mix in the ever-changing project business. Having some technical background, helps to understand details as where business studies help to obtain a holistic view by combining different topics.

The Future of Maritime Safety Report 2023 by Inmarsat has been published now. SeaFocus Talent Team was working on this project. 

The 2023 edition of The Future of Maritime Safety Report from Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat business, reveals that the number of distress calls from ships at sea remains high, despite a continuing decline in vessel losses. The new report, which analyses Global Maritime Distress and Safety System information captured by Inmarsat, registered 853 distress calls from January to December 2022 – up from 794 in 2021. 

Welcome onboard M/S Finnsirius and to the joint presentation by OX2 and Dassault Systemes!

During this inspiring and future-looking session OX2 and Dassault Systèmes will present the Mega Green Port Långnäs and its Virtual Twin. The Green Mega Port will become the central hub for renewable energy generated by offshore wind farms and for the production of green Hydrogen and e-fuels to enable the decarbonization of shipping and heavy industry. This project plays a crucial role in the endeavor to establish land, Finland, as the leading green energy hub in the Nordic region.

The forth panel discussion at the SeaFocus ESG & SCM Summit October 4th is about "SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN".  

The moderator of the panel is Poul Woodall, Senior Advisor, SeaFocus and the panellists are Lamia Kerdjoudj, Secretary General, FEPORT, the Federation of European Private Port Companies and Terminals, Dennis Jul Pedersen, CEO, Port Esbjerg, Johannes Sommer, Sales Director, LKW WALTER Internationale Transportorganisation AG, Jyrki Ranki, Project Director, Logistics, Metsä Group, Merja Kallio-Mannila, Deputy Head of Group Sales, Marketing & Customer Service, Finnlines, Tero Kosonen, Member of the Management Team, KWH Logistics

The first panel discussion at the SeaFocus ESG & SCM Summit October 4th is about "FUTURE ENERGY". 

The moderator of the panel is Jan Philip Eckmann, Editor, RoPax Magazine and the panellists are Johanna Luoma, Environment and Sustainability Specialist, Finnlines, Kim Sveholm, Design Engineer Langh Tech Oy Ab, Jonas Teir, Technology Director, Wasaline, Sveta Ukkonen, Head of Marine Fuels and Services, Neste and Clas-Johann Westén, Technical Superintendent, Tallink SIlja.

SeaFocus ESg & SCM Summit soon! Some parts are already sold out. Youc can of course always ask for cancellation seats. 

We are really happy about the fact that this event has been well received amongst the industry and important players and also future talents. 

Lamia Kerdjoudj, the Secretary General of FEPORT, the Federation of European Private Port Companies and Terminals will join the ESG Dinner as a Key Note speaker together with Petteri Nurmi, the CO of DB Schenker Cluster Nordics

This is how it all starts ....

It is October 5th morning 2023. Finnlines newbuilding M/S Finnsirius is waiting us to embark at the Port of Naantali. Joyful atmosphere can be sensed, and you see smiling and curious faces wherever you watch. Excitement is in the air. 

A group of high-level guest speakers, their team members, participating delegations and what is most fascinating, a group of extremely talented students or recently graduated are entering the vessel and experiencing something spectacular together.

Can we have a conference or hardly even a discussion around shipping and maritime or logistics, where we would not mention windpower or windenergy at least once?
We welcome Anders Wiklund and Ian Bergström from OX2 and Annette Höglund-Dönnes from Dassault Systémes to our SeaFocus Summit Cruise, to explain us all what is going on in Långnäs, where we will arrive with brand new M/S Finnsirius on the 5th October, in conjunction with the first ever SeaFocus Summit in Naantali, Finland.

Henrik Otto Jensen Managing Director of Scandinavian Auto Logistics is one of the panellist at the ESG & SCM Summit. He will share his experience on the topic "Changing Trade Patterns" on October 4th.
As the Managing Director of Scandinavian Auto Logistics AS, Henrik has established the company as a key player in the logistics and shipping sector. Since its formation in 1999 as a partner with Grimaldi Group, Italy, Scandinavian Auto Logistics has been at the forefront of providing efficient and reliable automotive logistics solutions.
Under Henrik's leadership, Scandinavian Auto Logistics has built strong partnerships and gained a reputation for excellence in the industry. 

We are so proud of the speaker lineup of the upcoming ESG & SCM Summit. 6 Panel discussion with more than 20 international experts. 

At the Summit we will discuss the strategic importance of environmental, social and governance key factors for all companies, regardless of the industry. The expectations placed on companies to act responsibly in society and taking climate change into account are high, so it is important for the company management to understand the complex environment of ESG and know how to business wise act correctly.

SeaFocus proudly presents the Key Note of the whole ESG and SCM Summit 2023 Tom Pippingköld, President and CEO of Finnlines. 

Mr Pippingsköld will give a presentation during the ESG & SCM Summit Conference October 4th. 

We are thrilled to introduce our esteemed Intelligence Hunt Show moderator, Craig Eason, a maritime industry trailblazer with a wealth of experience in journalism and communication. With a profound understanding of the shipping and maritime sectors, he has reported on transformative trends, regulatory shifts, technological advancements, and the vital intersections of social and environmental impact.
Craig Eason is not only a seasoned business journalist, editor, and event moderator but also a dynamic consultant and captivating public speaker.

Marcus Puffer, the VP & Head of Loyalty Management
Solutions at IBS Software, will be sharing his insights on panel number 6 scheduled for October 4th, 2023.
During this engaging session, Marcus Puffer will be actively participating in the discussion on "Sourcing and Procurement of Goods, Services, Raw Materials, and Personnel". The panel aims to explore critical topics such as current and future markets, evolving supplier networks, logistical demands, overcapacity, and lack of capacity. Marcus will contribute his views from
the perspective of an industry supplier and focus with the other experts
on planning, managing, and executing new strategies and compliance in an uncertain market environment.

Lamia Kerdjoudj is the Secretary General of FEPORT, the Federation of European Private Port Companies and Terminals and one of the esteemed panelists at the highly anticipated ESG & SCM Summit 2023 from 4th-5th October, 2023.

Lamia Kerdjoudj will be participating two panels October 4th, at 11 am in the “Changing Trade Patterns” and at 1 pm in the Environment - Sustainable Supply Chain. This engaging session will delve into important discussions around meeting end-customers and shareholders requirements in relation to sustainability. The panel will explore how to act, measure, report, and set expectations for vendors in order to fulfill sustainability needs.

Shrishti Choudhary has been appointed as a SeaFocus Junior Consultant. She has been working for three Intelligence Hunt projects so far. She is studying at the University of Europe for Applied Science, Germany. She is currently writing her thesis under Dr Talha Khan on Particle Swarm Optimisation which works with improvising on older developed algorithms to bring higher optimisation in models. She is extremely passionate about maths and statistics & hence projects based on analytics is always deeply satisfying.

ESG Summit Cruise on board a brand new Finnlines vessel M/S Finnsirius from Naantali to Långnäs! 

During the cruise the international Talent Teams, Mentors and Case Company representatives will present the results of their cooperation. The following companies will be introduced Inmarsat, Euromar, Finnpilot Pilotage Ltd, Fintraffic´s Vessel Traffic Services, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and Finnish Transport and Communication Agency, Traficom, Gasum and Hillebrand Gori. 

Distinguished speaker Dr. Professor Pino Musolino, President and CEO of the North Central Tyrrhenian Sea Port Authority and President of the Ports of Rome, MedPorts Association will also join the Summit.
Pino Musolino is currently also a Professor at the university of Tuscia (Lazio Region, in italy) teaching “Sustainable Economics - History and Development. From March 2017 to December 2020, Pino Musolino served as the President and CEO of the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority – Ports of Venice and since then as a President and CEO of the North Central Tyrrhenian Sea Port Authority – Ports of Rome. In February 2023 Pino Musolino started as a President of the MEDPorts Association. 

Millicent Pitts is one of the distinguished participants at SeaFocus ESG & SCM Summit 2023. You will meet her at the Intelligence Hunt Show, as this extraordinary experience takes place  during the Summit Cruise on board M/S Finnsirius October 5th, 2023.
Millicent Pitts, Executive Director of Ocean Exchange, brings her expertise from the USA to our event. Ocean Exchange is an international, US-based non-profit organization with a mission to advance innovative solutions for healthy oceans, resilient coastal systems, and the decarbonization of ocean transport.

Irene Rosverg is one of the distinguished speakers, and a Member of the Evaluation Committee of the 10th Intelligence Hunt Show which will take place on the 5th of October in conjunction with the SeaFocus ESG & SCM Summit 2023 on the brand new Finnlines vessel M/S Finnsirius. Irene Rosberg will share her expertise and contribute to evaluating innovative solutions, together with the rest of the Evaluation Committee and SeaFocus Advisory Board Members.

Irene Rosberg commands enormous respect in the maritime and logistics sectors for her work in executive education, research on future industry challenges, and building global relationships. 

Jordi Torrent will discuss on the theme "Changing Trade Patterns”, in a panel about evolving trade and changing geopolitical structures. How to mitigate the risks and nurture success by adapting the best practices and compliant governance? 
Jordi Torrent, an industry leader and a prominent figure in the global supply chain. With his extensive experience Jordi Torrent brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table. His visionary approach and strategic insights have been instrumental in driving positive changes in the maritime industry.

During the history of the UNESCO Convention, only 15 non-governmental organizations have been accredited for the implementation of UNESCO's underwater cultural heritage protection goals. The accreditation of the Finnish Maritime Archaeological Society was a surprise in the sense that Finland as a country has still not ratified the UN Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, which was already generally accepted in 2001.

The Finnish Maritime Archaeological Society is a SeaFocus Associate Partner.

Ocean Exchange calls for solutions. They invite everyone to join as a voting delegate October 22-24 in Fort Lauderdale. Along with the Board of Governors and invited guests representing a cross-section of professions from industry, government, conservation, research, and academia by joining you could help select the winners of the $100,000 WW Orcelle® Award, the $100,000 Neptune Award, the $100,000 Innovation Award for Transportation and Logistics Hubs and our two Collegiate Awards for $10,000. 

Without much interest from the Finnish public, a new law on due diligence in supply chains came into effect in Germany on January 1st 2023. This new German legislation though has a greater significance for Finnish companies than it might seem at the first glance.

The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act[1] (“Act”) is groundbreaking especially as it foretells to a large extent the upcoming European legislation as contained in the proposal for a directive on due diligence in the area of sustainability.

Read the article by our Associate Partner, Nora Haapala, Attorney at Law, Associate Partner, Rödl & Partner Attorneys Finland

Prepare to be amazed by the latest vessel gracing the seas, the M/S Finnsirius. This state-of-the-art ship is a testament to innovation and technology. From its advanced navigation systems to its sustainable energy solutions, the M/S Finnsirius exemplifies excellence in maritime engineering. 

The Intelligence Hunt Program presents five captivating case assignments, each providing different companies with the opportunity to tap into innovative solutions. These case assignments serve as the catalyst for creative thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and the exploration of new business possibilities.

SeaFocus and Escola Europea have a pleasure of inviting the University Professors and Students to the Introduction to MOST and PVL Training, which takes place October 4 in Naantali Finland at the Hotel Naantali Spa in conjunction with the SeaFocus ESG Summit. This is an introductory interactive session to share thoughts and ideas of possible further collaboration in the area of improving the skills in sustainable maritime transport and logistics. 

Only university staff, professors and students are eligible for participation. This session is free of charge for the participants, but requires registration.

Breakbulk Europe trade fair took place 6.-8.6. in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This trade fair brings together over 4000 companies, Breakbulk Europe provides the ultimate networking platform to grow your connections, generate new business and strengthen key existing relationships. 

SeaFocus was presented by our Senior Advisor Frank Kho. 

Every company and business segment has a reason to be concerned about environmental, social and governance related matters. Compliance and continuity play a critical role in building a change-resistant strategy and profitable business.

SeaFocus is a maritime and supply chain focused entity nourishing leadership and innovation, resilience and business continuation, with a strong sustainability edge. 

“Introduction to the Motorways of the Sea / Port Virtual Lab”. This workshop is organized by Escola Europea in co-operation with SeaFocus and in conjunction with the SeaFocus ESG Summit 2023 October 4th in Naantali, Finland. 

This part of the conference is exclusively targeted for the University professors, lecturers and students and it is free of charge. 

This is a great opportunity to get introduced to the programme presenting the technical concepts of the logistics and port sectors to the participants using a methodology that facilitates communication and relations among the participants.

As an Intelligence Hunt project EUROMAR has given our team of Experts and Young Talents to create a plan for establishing a new service crew maritime safety training centre in Madeira for cruise and Ropax vessels. 

Markku Mylly, Senior Vice President, Maritime Safety and Security at SeaFocus was visitng SANAS Rescue facility and Protectao Civil fire fighting facility at Madeira. This visit was related to the ongoing project with Euromar.

The results of this project will be presented at the Intelligence Hunt Show Otcober 5th.  

Consortium of four entities Finnpilot Pilotage Ltd, Fintraffic´s Vessel Traffic Services, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and Finnish Transport and Communication Agency, Traficom joined the Intelligence Hunt with a case assignment. We are proud to nominate the Talent Team EUREKA with Faranak Ahmadi, Fresenius Hochschule of Berlin, Germany, Eslam Gad, World Maritime University, Sweden, Jonatan Mendoza, World Maritime University, Sweden, Minh Thu Nguyen Ngoc, Aalto University, Mikkeli Campus, Finland, Bao Nguyen, Aalto University, School of Business, Finland, Nseobong Umoh, Cranfield University, United Kingdom

SeaFocus is participating the Messe München TransportLogistic2023 Trade Fair in München for the first time.

Really excited for being a part of this huge exhibition. Looking forward to having great discussions and meeting specialists of logistics and supply chain.

We will be presented by our Senior Advisors Hannu Lumme, Frank Kho, Rolf Neise and Heli Koukkula-Teixeira and our Junior Consultants Silvia Serafini, Victoria Pasquarelli and Ronit Patel. 

Healthy and well sea nature is also one of the key goals of the Port of Turku’s environmental programme that extends to 2025, and it is targeted at decreasing the burden of port operations on the waterways. 

The environmental programme aims at climate change mitigation as part of the carbon-neutral Turku city area.

The Port of Turku is a SeaFocus Partner.

SeaFocus Summit 2023 on ESG and Sustainable Supply Chain speaker lineup was published today. The list and the programme for the October 4-5th will be updated little by little.

Registration has also been opened! 

We will be attending the Messe München Transport Logistic 2023 in May.  This will be our first time and we are pretty excited. This trade fair is a huge event.

We have a stand in Hall B, stand number 429 - if coming to the fair, please do come to say hi to us.  

Also Wasaline and Fintraffic will be joining the exhibition with us. 

Today we had a breakfast seminar  organised together with Rödl & Partner Attorneys. Our topic of discussion was DATA PROTECTION AND CYBER SECURITY. We had Sami Serpola, IBM, Technology Security and Pekka Pulli, Rödl & Partner Law Firm, lawyer and deputy judge as experts explaining the basic principles of the data protection regulation and default data protection, notification of data security breaches and information protection from a cyber security point of view.

A lot of useful information! We organise these kind of events for our Partners every other month with different topics.

We are building up something great for this Autumn. October 4-5th, 2023 we will organise a SeaFocus Summit on ESG and Sustainable Supply Chain. This event takes place in Naantali and also we get to visit Finnlines´s new vessel M/S Finnsirius. 

We are really excited! Hope to see you joining the Summit.

Another great opportunity for students to challenge themselves, their knowledge and skills as Hillebrand Gori joins the Intelligence Hunt project.  

Calling all supply chain and logistics students! Apply now for the Intelligence Hunt project with Hillebrand Gori - deadline 24.4.2023 CET 4 pm

We are looking for students interested in to work on a business project with Hillebrand Gori, a company of DHL – specializing in the logistics of wine, beer and spirits, in any quantity, along any route, across all modalities.

All student teams working on the Intelligence Hunt case assignments at the moment have proceeded well with their works. They are having weekly meetings among the team and every now and then with their Mentors and also case company representatives. So many great ideas!!! 

Teams: SAFETY FIRST, MARÈ and EUREKA

Student ! Apply now for the Intelligence Hunt project for GASUM  - deadline 15.4.2023 CET 4 pm

We are looking for students interested in 

• maritime industry
• energy and environmental technology 
• engineering
• data analytics
• legal and commercial compliance

this might be your chance to explore your skills and knowhow in a real business case. 

We are happy to introduce the Talent Team for the Euromar case. They act as a Junior Consultant Trainee for SeaFocus during the project: Catarina Aires, ISCTE-IUL, University Institute of Lisbon (Portuguese in Portugal), Diana D´anello, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, (Colombian in Finland), Mariia Mykhailenko, Odessa National Maritime University (Ukrainian in Ukraine), Maria Marich, Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping (Maritime academy) (Slovakian - Russian, in Russia) and Eric Nnanna, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow (Nigerian in United Kingdom)

The Maritime Networks took place today in Nantali, Finland. In the morning the attendees participated a seminar on future prospects of the maritime industry. Ulla Keino, the CEO of SeaFocus held a speech about Global Expert and Crew Shortage - Some Ways Forward".

The event gathered around 300 participants. After the seminar there was a maritime industry exhibition, where also SeaFocus had a stand. 

We are proud to present you our talent teams working on the Intelligence Hunt case assignments at the moment.

These young talents are giving their outmost for the case companies and project team. 

The Maritime Networks will for the fifth time gather representatives of the maritime industry. 

The event seminar and networking event takes place on Thursday, March 30, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Naantali Spa. 

In addition to an inspiring seminar program, Meriverkostot offers participants the opportunity to meet new partners who can offer their know-how, production capacity or completely new solutions to the future challenges of the industry.

Baltic Insights is a three part mini series of the Aronnax Podcast where I (Craig Eason) travelled on three Finnlines vessels to talk to the crew about their futures and to take a look at the changing Baltic Sea.

Many thanks to the crew of the Finnlines vessels Europalink, Finnlady and Finnswan for offering their time and thoughts and to the company for letting me travel around the Baltic Sea.

You can read more about the company and the new vessels that Finnlines will soon be deploying on its routes by going to www.finnlines.com

I also want to thank SeaFocus for the idea of this tremendous voyage and the support in realisation of it. 

We are happy to announce that the Nordic energy company Gasum joins the Intelligence Hunt project.

Gasum is a leading LNG and bio-LNG bunkering company in the Baltic Sea and North Sea area. Bio-LNG or LBG means liquefied biogas. Biogas is made from organic material, and it has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 90% compared to fossil gas. 

The core question in the project is to better understand the bunkering market and how the regulatory and other changes will impact the market and bunkering customer decision making, including from the shippers’ and ship owners’ perspective.

We are happy to announce that the Finnish Maritime Archaeological Society (MAS) and SeaFocus have agreed on Partnership and MAS will join the co-operation as a Developing Partner. 

The society promotes maritime archaeological research, education, and citizen science in Finland. As a Federation of Finnish Learned Societies member, the organization collaborates closely with universities and the Finnish Heritage Agency to identify and study new and old wrecks.

SeaFocus was invited to participate annual held LetExpo in Verona Italy by A.L.I.S. the Logistic Association of Sustainable Intermodality. 

The exhibition took place 8-11.3. 

Ulla Keino, the CEO of SeaFocus took part in panel discussion on ”NEXT GENERATION EU: transport & logistics sustainability”.

Silvia Serafini, SeaFocus Junior Consultant,  will be participating the LetExpo 2023 with Ulla Keino, CEO of SeaFocus, who also will be a speaker there. This is a great way to put Silvia's professionalism and passion in sustainability in use as she is interested in promoting sustainability across different industries.

Silvia's exclusive task is to promote SeaFocus' “Intelligence Hunt” in Italy, both to students and to the exhibitors and guests of LetExpo, and beyond. In the future Silvia will be working as a Junior Consultant in the projects related to Southern European markets.

Call for Students in Maritime Safety and Technology, Marketing and Data Analyze by March 10th

For this Intelligence Hunt project, we are looking for students interested in maritime industry and safety. If you are studying maritime safety, technology, commercial business, marketing, or data analytics, this might be your chance to explore your skills and knowhow in a real business case. 

This case assignment was given by a consortium of four Finnish public transport organisations: Finnpilot Pilotage Ltd, Fintraffic´s Vessel Traffic Services, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and Finnish Transport and Communication Agency, Traficom.

Nikolai Andriakov has Passion for Data Analytics 

Nikolai Andriakov is a final year International Business student at Aalto University, Finland. Prior to the Bachelor’s degree, he graduated from the Baltic State Technical University with a degree in Power Mechanical Engineering and completed two internships at Nissan as an Interior Design Engineer.  

The ultimate target of SeaFocus is to use its immense expertise and network to benefit its partners and stakeholders, and to promote the maritime and supply chain industry to the future talents as an interesting career path.

Finnpilot Pilotage Ltd, Fintraffic´s Vessel Traffic Services, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and Finnish Transport and Communication Agency, Traficom join the Intelligence Hunt project. 

The Case assignment “Improving the Usage of Fairway Data for Different Users” focuses in commercial and recreational fairways as well as in new technologies.

This case assignment is to investigate possibilities to improve the utilization of digital information from the fairways; static and changing information by different user groups and stakeholders, to identify additional services possible to create from the collected / available data and to identify new users and user groups. 

You can apply for Intelligence Hunt project anytime now. 

We will contact you when we have a project where your skills and knowledge would be beneficial for the project. 

Please note, when specific cases we always have more instructions published in our News & Blogs. So if and when interested, please check the instructions, and you of course, you can always contact us.  

  EUROMAR joins Intelligence Hunt project with a scope of establishing a new service crew maritime safety training centre in Madeira for cruise and Ropax vessels.

EUROMAR and SeaFocus are calling for students interested in the maritime industry and maritime safety to join this exciting Intelligence Hunt project.  

We are looking for students studying marketing, maritime safety and rescue, economics and hospitality and business management. If you are interested in our project but you study something else, you can still apply, so don’t hesitate.

EUROMAR joins Intelligence Hunt project with a scope of establishing a new service crew maritime safety training centre in Madeira for cruise and Ropax vessels.

Maritime training is regulated by the international STCW convention (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, later STCW). The STCW Convention was amended in 1995 (STCW-95), when for example training on board began to be defined more precisely. In addition, there is a need for refreshment trainings on regular intervals for all crew members.

Today visiting the Port of Tallinn, Muuga Harbour. 

Muuga Harbour is the main cargo harbour for Port of Tallinn and locates ca 17 km east of Tallinn. It is specialized on handling transit origin goods. The cargo volume handled in Muuga Harbour accounts for ca 50% of the total cargo volume of Port of Tallinn and ca 40% of the transit cargo volume passing through Estonia.

We are happy to announce that our co-operation with the Port of Turku continues. 

The Port of Turku is a pioneer in its field that works in close co-operation with its partners. The Port is  involved in a number of projects and develop new solutions in order to enhance the vessel traffic and consequently improve the profitability of passenger traffic and cargo transports. 

  In-depth Insights into Safety Trends for the Inmarsat Annual Report on Maritime Safety - Intelligence Hunt project with Inmarsat. The project idea is to examine data from Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) calls made to Inmarsat in order to provide insights into safety trends and reveal patterns at a local and global level. A better understanding of these patterns can help the maritime industry take proactive steps to prevent such incidents and help guide us to a safer future.  

The kick-off meeting with the choses students, project team and Inmarsat representatives was held. 

We started the second day of our Strategy meting by visiting Captain Pekka Stenvik and his crew at the bridge of M/S Finnlady, Finnlines. 

Almost all SeaFocus Senior Experts were on board; Ulla Keino, CEO, Markku Mylly, SVP, Hannu Lumme,  Commercial Director, Esko Mustamäki, Senior Advisor, Frank Kho, Senior Advisor, Rolf Neise, Senior Advisor, Pentti Nelimarkka, Senior Advisor, Poul Woodall, Senior Advisor, Craig Eason, Senior Advisor and Heli Koukkula-Teixeira, CMO. We had a very fruitful meeting on planning our future projects. 

Today we visited the Port of Helsinki, our Partner in their office at the Port of Vuosaari. We had a great discussion of the future development plans of the port, which Marketing Manager Nina Liljeqvist and Devlopment Manager Jani Lindroos presented us. 

After the meeting we met with Staffan Herlin, the Head of Group Marketing, Sales and Customer Service at Finnlines Plc, which is our Strategic Partner.

This was a start of a two day SeaFocus´s strategy meeting. 

We are happy to welcome Valentina Platzgummer to the Intelligence Hunt Junior Consultant Pool 

She is glad therefore to join the SeaFocus Junior Consultant Pool and to contribute to improve the impact of maritime and shipping industries on the environment. 

Valentina recently specialized in Marine Environmental Resources with an International MSc at the University of the Basque Country in Spain, with the objective of working on research and innovation projects for the sustainable use of the oceans. Her academic background is in Economics, as she received her BS in Foreign Trade from the University of Ca’ Foscari, in Venice. 

Record year for our Partners Wasaline, who carried 267 757 passengers (107 659 in 2021) between Vaasa and Umeå in 2022. Passenger volume increased by 149 percent despite Covid-19 travel restrictions being in place until March. After the restrictions were lifted Wasaline has broken passenger records every month. 

The departures of Aurora Botnia increased by 14 percent from 990 to 1 133 departures. The amount of passenger vehicles transported increased by 126 percent. 

We had our first breakfast seminar with our Associate Partner Rödl & Partner. 

The EU Commission has published a large package of "Fit For 55" legislative proposals as part of the wider European Green Development Program, with the aim of making the EU carbon neutral by 2050. The regulation is based on the "polluter pays" principle.

At our breakfast event, Jyrki Ranki, Vice President, Maritime Logistics, Metsä Group and Timo Huhtala, Attorney, Shareholder, Rödl & Partner Attorney at Law Oy will introduced us to the topic. The moderator of the event was Ulla Keino, CEO, SeaFocus. The discussion at the breakfast seminar was very vivid. 

Happy to announce that our collaboration continues with C & C Port Agency Finland Oy Ltd.. The Company is an independent Finnish company solely dedicated to port agency representation and ship clearance. 

C & C Port Agency Finland has earned its place as one of the leading and most esteemed port agency firms in the Finnish market. C & C acts as a single point contact for you to all Finnish commercial ports. 

Dear Partners, Customers, Followers - We wish you all A Prosperous New Year 2023!