Year: 2018

Morning Coffee at the Helsinki Baltic Herring Market

We welcome everyone to come and share a cup of morning coffee with us at the Helsinki Baltic Herring Market on Tuesday 9 October 2018 from 9am to 11am.

Coffee will be served on sailboat M/aux Vivan, located at the edge of the western harbour basin (“Cholera Basin”) off the Market Square. Come by for an update on the latest Kotka Maritime Research Centre news and topical research as well as discussions on port digitalisation (the DigiPort project), inland navigation development (the INFUTURE project) and more.

Please sign up here by 1 October so that we can brew enough coffee for all comers.

New Research Project for Development of Inland Navigation

The INFUTURE (Future potential for inland waterways) project kicks off in October for a duration of three years. Aiming at developing improvements to inland waterway transport, the project is funded by the South-East Finland – Russia CBC 2014-2020 programme beginning next month.

“We will be analysing legislation relevant to cargo transport as well as customs practices in Russia and Finland. This will be accompanied by an IT system designed to help customers home in on the most suitable service for their cargo”, says Ville Henttu, Director of Research at South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences
The research team behind INFUTURE will be examining a wide range of solutions for the development of sustainable and cost-effective inland waterway transport. Project partners include South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, Aalto University, the Finnish Waterway Association, Meritaito Seahow Oy, Admiral Makarov State University for Maritime and Inland Shipping and the North-West Russia Logistic and Information Development Center. Tarja Javainen will be responsible for project coordination at the Kotka Maritime Research Centre.

Drawing competition for kids organized in summer 2018

The Baltic Sea Village, together with the COMPLETE project, organized a drawing competition for kids aged 6 to 10 years old in spring 2018. The theme of the competition was ‘alien species’, and the drawings could present either real or imaginary creatures. A winner was drawn among all contestants, and given a family ticket to the Aquarium House Maretarium in Kotka.

All the works sent to the competition were displayed at the Baltic Sea Village event in Kotka on 25-28/07/2018. The gallery of the drawings can also be found below. We wish to thank all the participants for their artistic insight about alien species!

Joanna Lankila, Mermaid (Merenneito)

Veera Ropa, A Star (Tähti)

Aarni Kotilainen, Seafloor (Merenpohja)

Viljo Heiskanen, Light (Valo)

Veeti Alppirinne, Spiny fish (Piikkikala)

Minea Lankila, Rockpool shrimp (Silokatkarapu)

Lenny Korhonen, Ender portal (Enderportaali)

Aatu Kiiski, Monsterfish (Hirviökala)

Eino Hasko, Mosasaurus

Erin Hännikäinen, Bigfish (Iso-Kala)

 

 

International Evaluation of Research Activities Begins

The Kotka Maritime Research Centre is undertaking an evaluation of its research activities. The aim is to identify achievements and future priorities. In addition to scientific work, the evaluation covers societal interaction, which constitutes one of the Centre’s central priorities.

– Universities constantly undergo such evaluations, but this marks the first time a comprehensive evaluation is undertaken of scientific work at the Kotka Maritime Research Centre, explains Aalto University Professor Pentti Kujala.

In the context of the evaluation, experts will be hired both from Finland and abroad, marking a significant step in the process of developing the Kotka Maritime Research Centre. The evaluation is slated to begin in autumn 2018.

Children Inspired to Draw by Introduced Species

The Baltic Sea Village challenged Kotka’s schoolchildren to get creative with introduced species, i.e. plants or animals living outside their native habitat as a result of human activity. Introduced species pose a grave threat to biodiversity. The young artists’ drawings depicted species both real and imagined, with family tickets to the Maretarium aquarium raffled among the participants. One of the winners was 5-year-old Joanna, whose interpretation of an introduced species can be seen below.

The Baltic Sea Village is organized annually in the context of the Kotkan Meripäivät festival. Organizers included the Environmental Centre of the City of Kotka, Haili Nature School, Kymen Vesi Oy, Metsähallitus, Natural Resources Institute Finland, The South-Eastern Finland Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, and the Southern Finland Fishermen’s Association.

Open data in ports – requirement or opportunity?

Writing in “A Hundred New Opportunities for Finland in 2018–2037”, a publication by the Finnish Parliament’s Committee for the Future, futurologists Risto Linturi and Osmo Kuusi argue that transport is the fastest-developing of all sectors. Digitalisation is becoming a reality for the logistics sector, but are ports ready?

This is a fear also expressed by the Finnish Government, which issued a decision in then spring stating that transport hubs such as ports and airports will be required to generate more open data in the future. Open data is essential to digitalisation efforts, which the transport sector will also need to undertake.

Read the blog post in its entirety on the Centrum Balticum site.

Baltic Sea Village at the Kotka Maritime Days Festival

As is now tradition, the Meripäivät Festival brings along with it to Kotka the Baltic Sea Village, which boasts a range of activities for maritime enthusiasts of all ages. This year we will be discussing ways to take better care of the Baltic Sea, including how to make your kitchen more Baltic-friendly. Have you heard of the bay barnacle, round goby, Chinese mitten crab or marenzelleria? What should you do if you notice a member of an introduced species tugging at your fishing hook? With a wealth of information on introduced species, our tent lets you plunge your hand into a vat of “introduced species goo” or take in the artistic products of our drawing contest.

You will find the Village at the North Pier (behind Vellamo).

Welcome!

Opening hours of the Baltic Sea Village:
Thursday 26 July, 6pm to 8pm
Firday 27 July, 10am to 6pm
Saturday 28 July, 10am to 6pm
Sunday 29 July, 10am to 2pm