Jouni Ahrela: “Vuosaari is our unrivalled unitised traffic harbour”
Jouni Ahrela has over four decades of experience in maritime logistics. He joined Finnsteve in 1980, and witnessed the opening of Finland’s first container terminal in Helsinki’s West Harbour.
“I fell in love with this industry on my first day.”
Ahrela fondly remembers his cooperation with the Port of Helsinki.
– Olen tehnyt yhteistyötä neljän Helsingin satamajohtajan kanssa. Helsingin satama on asiakasdialogissaan ja viestinnässään aivan omassa luokassaan. Se on dynaaminen edelläkävijä, joka kuuntelee asiakastaan.
“Skilled personnel ensure both operational reliability and a forward-looking approach. During the pandemic, the port functioned extremely well in comparison to many other European ports.”
Ahrela fondly remembers his cooperation with the Port of Helsinki.
In May 2006, Ahrela began managing CMA CGM’s Finnish office, where he worked until his retirement in November 2022.
“Moving to a major shipping company had long been a dream of mine.”
The rapid growth of scheduled container traffic has been the biggest change that Ahrela has witnessed during his long career.
“The Port of Helsinki’s rise to become the nation’s main port has been a huge change. The idea of Vuosaari Harbour was born back in the early 1980s, and its realisation was very important.”
“Port Director Nissinen drove its construction forward with determination, and Vuosaari is now our unrivalled unitised traffic harbour.”
The substantial consolidation and internationalisation of the industry have been clear trends that Ahrela has noticed during his career. Finland-bound container traffic is now in the hands of international companies, and all of the sector’s major operators are in the Finnish market. The six largest shipping companies handle 90 per cent of all the world’s container traffic.