![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.kvarken.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/resizedimage600400-IMG-2589.jpg\")
The Mayor of Vaasa,<\/p>\nWhen the participants of the Motorways of the Sea conference arrived at Bock\u2019s Corner on the second day of the event, expectations were high after the first successful gathering in Ume\u00e5, Sweden. The excited murmur of the crowd revealed no signs of fatigue, although the participants had travelled from Ume\u00e5 to Vaasa on the previous day to continue the transport seminar. The Mayor of Vaasa,<\/p>\n
Mr. Tomas H\u00e4yry<\/strong>, was visibly satisfied with the contents and atmosphere of the conference. In his opening speech, he promised to tirelessly promote the Midway Alignment project (which is currently being examined by the EU\u2019s evaluation working group) in order for it to become a model example of the Motorways of the Sea programme.<\/p>\n The leading expert at the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, Mr. Lassi Hilska<\/strong>, commended the new and bold business model implemented in the Kvarken for increasing the route\u2019s competitiveness. He also reminded that access to the Arctic region was important. The region is vast and the connections long and, for that reason, he considers it troublesome that many of the maps that show transport systems practically end at the height of Helsinki and Stockholm.<\/p>\n However, Hilska pointed out that the average of 230 passengers in the Kvarken per sailing is too low; in order to be able to increase the passenger numbers, the ferry has to offer even better services and more sailings and the prices have to be suitable to stimulate demand. According to him, the support granted for shipping does more harm than good: \u201cPublic support must be well motivated and it mustn\u2019t obstruct the market access of other operators.\u201d<\/p>\n Another speaker, Executive Officer Mr. Olav Jern<\/strong>, used his speech to exhibit Ostrobothnia\u2019s success and entrepreneurial spirit to the international guests, and he also reminded them that this success is not possible without good transport solutions and cross-border communications. This was echoed by the CEO of the Finnish Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Risto E.J. Penttil\u00e4<\/strong>, who joined in Jern\u2019s praise of the prosperous region. According to him, several innovations (such as the piloting of new technology, the use of liquefied natural gas (LGN) and its positive environmental effects as well as the new business model sparked by the collaboration between the regions) spoke for the investments to the transport route.<\/p>\n Similar to Hilska, Penttil\u00e4 also took up the issue of access to the Arctic region. Moreover, he emphasized the importance of good connections to Russia: \u201cRussian economy will grow and, when it does, we need good transport routes and connections to the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Experts from the University of Lappeenranta and the region\u2019s prosperous companies (such as ABB, Danfoss Drives and W\u00e4rtsil\u00e4) lectured about the hybridization of ships and the related technology. Their message was that new battery technology enables the storage of electricity in batteries which, in turn, can be used to save energy and level peak consumption. At the same time, oil consumption is reduced by hybrid solutions and the use of LNG and electric engines.<\/p>\n The CEO of ESL Shipping, Mr. Mikael Koskinen<\/strong>, spoke of the new era of raw material shipping. He reminded of LNG\u2019s requirements and stated that LNG ships by themselves are not enough \u2212 the whole industry has to start using LNG in order for infrastructure investments to become profitable. Koskinen also said that the use of LNG reduces maritime emissions and noise in the ports.<\/p>\n The Finnish Transport Agency\u2019s Mr. Juhani Tervala<\/strong> (also called Mr. Transport) observed that it has become increasingly common in the last few years to apply for financing for motorways of the seas \u2212 maritime transport routes \u2212 now that TEN-T support is no longer granted for land motorways. Instead of public bodies submitting project applications, private companies and maritime operators have now become more active. Tervala amused the participants with a well-chosen analogy of the false assumption that Brad Pitt equals Hollywood and Helsinki equals Finland. He, too, had noticed that transport system maps only used to display Helsinki.<\/p>\n Member of European Parliament, Ms. Miapetra Kumpula-Natri<\/strong>, reminded already in the beginning of her speech that regular shipping across the Kvarken began as early as in 1858. Kumpula-Natri has strongly lobbied for the Kvarken traffic in Brussels, and she questioned the region\u2019s chances of creating new competitiveness if they cannot be brought together with a transport route. Kumpula-Natri also talked about the importance of new and cleaner technology to the unique Kvarken Natural Heritage Site.<\/p>\n The conference was concluded by the Principal Administrator of TEN-T, Mr. Jos\u00e9 Anselmo<\/strong>, who is soon leaving his post in order to pursue other expert tasks. His most powerful message was about cooperation. Internal quarrelling will not help Finland at all; only by working together as a united front can the country acquire funding for such a good project as the Midway Alignment. He remarked that one must not expect too much from the financing application \u2212 although, in his opinion, the project will fare well in the Commission\u2019s reading. He encouraged the project staff to proudly display the project in the future and wished that the Finnish MEPs would continue their fight. \u201cMay the Force be with you\u201d was the parting farewell of Anselmo, who earned the nickname \u201cFather of the Midway Alignment project\u201d at the conference. The conference was organized by the E12 Atlantica Transport project together with the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia (Finland), Region V\u00e4sterbotten (Sweden) and the European Commission\u2019s Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE). The project is administered by the Kvarken Council and it receives support from the Interreg Botnia-Atlantica programme.<\/p>\n Text: VASEK \/ Johanna Hietikko-Koljonen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When the participants of the Motorways of the Sea conference arrived at Bock\u2019s Corner on the second day of the event, expectations were high after the first successful gathering in Ume\u00e5, Sweden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":" When the participants of the Motorways of the Sea conference arrived at Bock\u2019s Corner on the second day of the event, expectations were high after the first successful gathering in Ume\u00e5, Sweden. The excited murmur of the crowd revealed no signs of fatigue, although the participants had travelled from Ume\u00e5 to Vaasa on the previous day to continue the transport seminar. Mr. Tomas H\u00e4yry<\/strong>, was visibly satisfied with the contents and atmosphere of the conference. In his opening speech, he promised to tirelessly promote the Midway Alignment project (which is currently being examined by the EU\u2019s evaluation working group) in order for it to become a model example of the Motorways of the Sea programme.<\/p> The leading expert at the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, Mr. Lassi Hilska<\/strong>, commended the new and bold business model implemented in the Kvarken for increasing the route\u2019s competitiveness. He also reminded that access to the Arctic region was important. The region is vast and the connections long and, for that reason, he considers it troublesome that many of the maps that show transport systems practically end at the height of Helsinki and Stockholm.<\/p> However, Hilska pointed out that the average of 230 passengers in the Kvarken per sailing is too low; in order to be able to increase the passenger numbers, the ferry has to offer even better services and more sailings and the prices have to be suitable to stimulate demand. According to him, the support granted for shipping does more harm than good: \u201cPublic support must be well motivated and it mustn\u2019t obstruct the market access of other operators.\u201d<\/p> Another speaker, Executive Officer Mr. Olav Jern<\/strong>, used his speech to exhibit Ostrobothnia\u2019s success and entrepreneurial spirit to the international guests, and he also reminded them that this success is not possible without good transport solutions and cross-border communications. This was echoed by the CEO of the Finnish Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Risto E.J. Penttil\u00e4<\/strong>, who joined in Jern\u2019s praise of the prosperous region. According to him, several innovations (such as the piloting of new technology, the use of liquefied natural gas (LGN) and its positive environmental effects as well as the new business model sparked by the collaboration between the regions) spoke for the investments to the transport route.<\/p> CEO of the Finnish Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Risto E.J. Penttil\u00e4<\/em><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Similar to Hilska, Penttil\u00e4 also took up the issue of access to the Arctic region. Moreover, he emphasized the importance of good connections to Russia: \u201cRussian economy will grow and, when it does, we need good transport routes and connections to the country.\u201d<\/p> Experts from the University of Lappeenranta and the region\u2019s prosperous companies (such as ABB, Danfoss Drives and W\u00e4rtsil\u00e4) lectured about the hybridization of ships and the related technology. Their message was that new battery technology enables the storage of electricity in batteries which, in turn, can be used to save energy and level peak consumption. At the same time, oil consumption is reduced by hybrid solutions and the use of LNG and electric engines.<\/p> The CEO of ESL Shipping, Mr. Mikael Koskinen<\/strong>, spoke of the new era of raw material shipping. He reminded of LNG\u2019s requirements and stated that LNG ships by themselves are not enough \u2212 the whole industry has to start using LNG in order for infrastructure investments to become profitable. Koskinen also said that the use of LNG reduces maritime emissions and noise in the ports.<\/p> The Finnish Transport Agency\u2019s Mr. Juhani Tervala<\/strong> (also called Mr. Transport) observed that it has become increasingly common in the last few years to apply for financing for motorways of the seas \u2212 maritime transport routes \u2212 now that TEN-T support is no longer granted for land motorways. Instead of public bodies submitting project applications, private companies and maritime operators have now become more active. Tervala amused the participants with a well-chosen analogy of the false assumption that Brad Pitt equals Hollywood and Helsinki equals Finland. He, too, had noticed that transport system maps only used to display Helsinki.<\/p> Member of European Parliament, Ms. Miapetra Kumpula-Natri<\/strong>, reminded already in the beginning of her speech that regular shipping across the Kvarken began as early as in 1858. Kumpula-Natri has strongly lobbied for the Kvarken traffic in Brussels, and she questioned the region\u2019s chances of creating new competitiveness if they cannot be brought together with a transport route. Kumpula-Natri also talked about the importance of new and cleaner technology to the unique Kvarken Natural Heritage Site.<\/p> The conference was concluded by the Principal Administrator of TEN-T, Mr. Jos\u00e9 Anselmo<\/strong>, who is soon leaving his post in order to pursue other expert tasks. His most powerful message was about cooperation. Internal quarrelling will not help Finland at all; only by working together as a united front can the country acquire funding for such a good project as the Midway Alignment. He remarked that one must not expect too much from the financing application \u2212 although, in his opinion, the project will fare well in the Commission\u2019s reading. He encouraged the project staff to proudly display the project in the future and wished that the Finnish MEPs would continue their fight. \u201cMay the Force be with you\u201d was the parting farewell of Anselmo, who earned the nickname \u201cFather of the Midway Alignment project\u201d at the conference. The conference was organized by the E12 Atlantica Transport project together with the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia (Finland), Region V\u00e4sterbotten (Sweden) and the European Commission\u2019s Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE). The project is administered by the Kvarken Council and it receives support from the Interreg Botnia-Atlantica programme.<\/p> Text: VASEK \/ Johanna Hietikko-Koljonen<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"amnen":[90],"class_list":["post-8761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","amnen-infrastructure"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.kvarken.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/resizedimage419629-IMG-2619-kopia.jpg\")
CEO of the Finnish Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Risto E.J. Penttil\u00e4<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.kvarken.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/resizedimage600400-IMG-2667.jpg\")
<\/p>\n The Mayor of Vaasa,<\/p><\/p><\/p>