Minor hitches overshadow snowy startup of Vuosaari Harbour

First ship arrives late, problems on land as well

print this

There were some hiccups on Monday morning, when regular shipping began at the new harbour in Vuosaari in Eastern Helsinki.
      The bad weather delayed the arrival of the first ship by more than an hour. During the day, the snow also caused difficulties for lorry transport in the harbour area.
      Scheduled shipping was supposed to have started already before seven in the morning. The M/S Finnstar, which travelled through wind and snow from Germany, did not tie up to its pier before 8:30.
     
The unloading of the ship put the harbour facilities to the test. Queues began to form after some of the exit gates malfunctioned, and lorries that got stuck in the snow did not help the situation.
      “There were lorries in the snow here and there. Some of the brakes froze, as they drove out of the warm ship. The electronic identification devices did not work with all of the lorries, so the work had to be done manually”, said Kari Noroviita, director of the Vuosaari harbour centre.
      Companies operating in the harbour hardly had it easier.
      “The machinery dose not seem to move in the snow”, sighed Paavo Mäntylä of the stevedoring company Finnsteve.
     
Finnsteve has been preparing the transfer of the large container crane Olof from the West Harbour to Vuosaari for several days. The crane began the journey by sea during the weekend, but it had to stay in Hernesaari, where it was sheltered from the wind.
      “We have asked them to clean the snow off the tracks in Vuosaari, if we get the crane there”, Mäntylä said on Monday.
     
The managers of the harbour intently watched the development of the situation in the massive harbour area in the morning. The roof of the the 13-storey office building, the nerve centre of the harbour, affords a view of almost every movement in the area. In the eyes of a layman, the traffic jams were reminiscent of the backups of lorries at the Vaalimaa border crossing. A professional saw things differently.
      “It is good that we made separate routes for them”, said the harbour’s project director Antti Mäkinen when the backup of passenger cars eased somewhat.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Focus on Helsinki harbour activities shifts to new Vuosaari facility (24.11.2008)
  Sörnäinen Harbour will move to Vuosaari overnight on November 24th (17.11.2008)

Links:
  Vuosaari Harbour Project

Helsingin Sanomat