The proportion of Finnish ships involved in goods transport to and from Finland has declined so much that the Maintenance and Supply Security Centre sees the situation as "very critical" from the point of view of securing critical supplies in exceptional circumstances.
The centre fears that Finland may not have enough ships of its own to take care of necessary imports and exports in a crisis situation. The centre is especially concerned about energy deliveries.
Finland’s foreign trade has increased sharply in recent decades, but Finnish ships have not managed to maintain their share of goods transport.
This is attributed to tougher competition, and to the fact that many Finnish shipping lines have registered their vessels under foreign flags of convenience. Consequently, Finland’s merchant fleet has not grown in proportion to the growth in international commerce.
In an international crisis situation, the countries that Finnish-owned ships have been flagged out to would be able to expropriate them for their own use.
In 2000, 108 cargo ships were under the Finnish flag. In February this year the figure was 104. The gross tonnage of the ships also declined during the same period.
About 80% of Finland’s foreign trade moves by sea, and last year it amounted to 96 million tonnes. Mika Purhonen, director-general of the Maintenance and Supply Security Centre, recently told the Parliament’s Finance Committee that the present situation goes against decisions and goals set by Parliament. In the autumn of 2001, the centre told Parliament that the 40% share of Finnish ships in transport was sufficient to meet the goals for maintenance and supply security set by the government.
Purhonen noted that the situation has weakened since then.
