Political strikes have halted container traffic at the Port of Helsinki for around four weeks this spring, leading industrial operators and traders to rely more on lorries for transporting goods.
Consequently, Vuosaari Harbour experienced a decrease in activity, while heavy traffic surged in West Harbour. However, passenger traffic remained unaffected and even saw a slight increase compared to the previous year.
During the first three months of the year, a total of 3.2 million tonnes of goods passed through the major port in Finland, marking an 8.9% reduction from the same period last year. Imports accounted for 1.5 million tonnes (-9.5%), while exports totalled 1.7 million tonnes (-9.3%).
“The start of the year was positive in cargo traffic, but the political strikes in February and March hit cargo transports through the Port of Helsinki hard. Lorry transports ran smoothly, but all other kinds of cargo traffic was nearly at a standstill. Some transport related to security of supply, however, was exluded from the strikes,” stated CEO of the Port of Helsinki, Ville Haapasaari.
He added, “These exceptionally long strikes will without a doubt have a visible negative impact on our bottom line. At the same time, we are concerned about the impact of the strikes on the much anticipated positive turn in the Finnish economy.”
During the first quarter of 2024, scheduled passenger traffic saw a total of 1.7 million passengers, marking a 4.7% increase compared to the same period last year. Unsurprisingly, the Helsinki to Tallinn route remained the busiest, with 1.4 million passengers (+5.5%) travelling on it.
”MS Cinderella returning as the second vessel on the Viking Line Stockholm route is a positive thing, giving encouraging signals for the coming year in passenger traffic,” noted Haapasaari.
