In order for the port to continue functioning, port traffic needs to flow smoothly. But the port is much more than just economics and tonnage.

When I startedworking at the Port of Helsinki about a year and a half ago, I was surprised to learn that more than nine million passengers pass through Helsinki’s harbours every year. Like many others, I associated travel primarily with air traffic, but the reality is that a significant proportion of tourists come to Helsinki by sea.

The scale of the port’s operations is surprising. Although the port itself employs around 110 people, the estimated direct and indirect employment impact of its operations is more than 39,000 people. Tourists arriving by sea bring almost a billion to the Helsinki region’s economy, and about a third of the value of all Finnish maritime transport passes through Helsinki. When the port is functioning properly, coffee, washing machines and Christmas presents all arrive on time.

The scale of the Port’s operations is surprising.

But in order for the port to continue functioning, port traffic needs to flow smoothly. For example, the trucks travelling through Jätkäsaari carry everything from medicine and breakfast cereal to building materials. Yet thousands of citizens also live in the area. At West Harbour, around a thousand trucks move goods in and out every day, which is equivalent to a 20-kilometre queue. The Port Tunnel that is currently being considered by the city’s policymakers would ease the ever-increasing volume of traffic in the West Harbour, whilst also reducing noise and emissions. Developing the port is a long-term effort that simultaneously takes citizens, transport and the climate into account.

The port is also much more than just economics and tonnage. Port employees have the opportunity to spend one working day a year volunteering, and many of my colleagues have, for example, spent a day helping low-income families or working in service centres for senior citizens. An older gentleman at the Kamppi Service Centre was reminiscing about decades past, and wanted to know whether the port still has the morning job calls. It hasn’t had them for quite a while, but at least the legendary Huutokonttori in Jätkäsaari still carries the name. Today, the building houses both a bar and a library.

The port is part of many people’s everyday lives and celebrations, both tangibly and in their memories.