SIMIC

Most of Finland¡¯s consumer goods, raw materials, and supplies for industrial purposes are transported through the port.

"The impact of the Covid crisis on cargo traffic was less severe than expected. In April and May, there was significantly less traffic, but towards the end of the year, cargo traffic picked up again and we managed to achieve the volumes of last year in the final months of the year," said port CEO Ville Haapasaari.

"Port of Helsinki cargo traffic totalled 13.3 million tonnes. Although this is 8.5 per cent less than last year, we are satisfied with it, all things considered." The unitised traffic on the Tallinn route increased six per cent compared to last year," said Mr Haapasaari.

Once the Covid crisis reached Finland, the country set strict travel restrictions in place and began to control the borders with the Schengen area.

Ship travel recovered by summer, but as the Covid crisis worsened in autumn, the conditions for travelling were made stricter.

In the summer, ship travel recovered somewhat, but in the autumn the Covid situation worsened and the conditions for traveling were made more restrictive.

"Now that the vaccinations against Covid are beginning, we are cautiously optimistic that the restrictions for ship travel will be slowly lifted by the summer, allowing passengers to embark once again. We believe that the year 2021 will be a year of recovery from Covid and we will return to the pre-crisis level in 2023, at the latest," said Mr Haapasaari.