Professor Ulla Tapaninen's blog
The one that controls the world's maritime transport flows controls the world. For hundreds of years this phrase has guided Columbus, the East India Company as well as Donald Trump. Almost every day we read about the tariffs imposed by Trump, the Russian shadow fleet, or the crises in the Strait of Hormuz, all of … Continue reading When geopolitical risks increase, the world reduces its dependence on oil
- What can we learn from the United States and Ukraine? Finland's foreign trade is completely dependent on its maritime transport. Although the share of services in our foreign trade is constantly increasing, almost all of our foreign trade goods travel by sea. However, the maritime operating environment is not stable. The COVID-19 pandemic, the … Continue reading A competitive maritime cluster is the best security of supply
The Finnish economy is highly dependent on world trade. Due to its geographical location, maritime transport is our most significant form of transport – especially now that trade with Russia has decreased significantly. In 2024, our foreign trade was worth 230 billion euros, of which almost exactly half was imports and half was exports. Of … Continue reading How did the Finnish maritime transport volumes look like in 2024?
For decades cargoes handled in Estonian ports have been mainly Russian transit traffic. The situation is changing. In 2022 Russian transit traffic was only about 44 per cent of Estonian sea traffic, while Finnish traffic (trade plus transit) was already 26 per cent of volumes. In summary, Finland is not yet as big maritime partner … Continue reading Estonian maritime transport: Importance of Russian transit is decreasing
The recent report on maritime security of supply is a great opening on the Finnish security of supply when maritime transport concerned. It pushes us to change the focus from the Finnish flag during the state of war, towards other disruptions in supply chains and different operating models, taking into account also alternative routes, forms … Continue reading The security of supply of sea transports should be looked at broadly – the Finnish flag is not a solution to security of supply, even in a war situation
The first step towards the maritime cluster of the future is to let go of the old world. There is no return to the supremacy of fossil fuels. The future belongs to those who know how to build their future both by giving up the transit traffic of Russian cargo and dependence on fossil fuels. … Continue reading The impact of the Green Transition and the Russian war in Ukraine on maritime affairs
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