Improvements to the alternative route for the Vuosaari road tunnel have mostly been completed, and the next step is to test the functioning of the route with traffic from 16 to 18 June. During the testing, the tunnel will be closed, and traffic will be directed to the improved alternative route. Planning for the renovation of the tunnel's technical systems is also progressing: planning of the renovation phases is under way, and as the work progresses, the schedule for the tunnel's closure later this year will be confirmed.

On 1 May 2025, the busiest fairways in the Port of Turku will introduce new meeting and overtaking prohibition areas for merchant vessels, which will harmonise and clarify traffic regulations in the area.

The busiest day for Easter traffic, Maundy Thursday (17 April), is approaching and thousands of Finnish people are preparing to set off for the holidays. Fintraffic’s Road Traffic Centre reminds everyone about the importance of remembering that in spring, there may be sudden changes in the road and traffic conditions and that safety is always the priority in traffic. Check the Easter road traffic forecasts now and read the current tips for Easter traffic to ensure that you will have a safe and smooth journey.

The first versions of the educational videos from the DigiMar project have been released, supporting navigational safety by improving routine maritime communication. These openly available videos are primarily aimed at VTS professionals and students, and they are based on international guidelines and authentic educational recordings. The videos offer practical support for developing communication skills.

Fintraffic’s application D/S POLO is already in use in more than thirty ports. A user survey shows that users find the service to be useful for their organisations, especially in providing a situational picture of schedules. The application received an overall score of 4/5 in the survey. This year, completely new features will be launched in the app related to vessel notifications, winter navigation and more.

In 2024, VTS Centres prevented 14 vessels from running aground and prevented near misses from developing into accidents. This information is from the newly completed annual statistics on prevented groundings by Fintraffic’s Vessel Traffic Services. In 2024, nearly 20 new vessel traffic meeting and overtaking prohibition areas and new special transport safety zones were also introduced in Finland.

The annual winter holiday season is once again upon us and, as customary, schools start their holidays in three batches on 17 and 24 February and 3 March 2025, depending on the region. On the roads, there is a clear increase in the volume of northbound traffic during the holiday season.

Digitalizing Port Operations – Optimizing Maritime Logistics in the Baltic Sea
Date: January 30, 2025 
Time: 12:00 CET to 13:30 CET (13:00–14:30 EET)

The Sustainable Flow project is the first global project focusing on both the development of a digital tool and energy savings and renewable energy to reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector, especially in the maritime sector and in ports. A digital tool developer has now been selected through a tender process. A total of nine international service providers participated in the public tendering process, and of these Awake.AI Oy was selected.

Outbound Christmas traffic will soon fill the roads. Now is a good time to review the basics of safe Christmas travel. Fintraffic, the National Police Board, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, the Ministry of the Interior Department for Rescue Services, the Emergency Response Centre Agency and the Finnish Road Safety Council want to wish everyone safe and peaceful Christmas travels.

Fintraffic’s Vessel Traffic Services and the Lübeck Port Authority have signed a service agreement for the Fintraffic POLO Port Activity port application. Port of Lübeck will start using the application in the beginning of next year. The port is particularly known as a busy hub for Scandinavian and Central European freight transport.

POLO Port Activity is already in use at more than 30 ports and is a daily tool for hundreds of people. In connection with the launch of Maritime Traffic Notification Service NEMO, the application will also include vessel notifications in accordance with the European Maritime Single Window (EMSW) regulation as a new feature next year. This will enable vessels to submit port call-related vessel notifications via POLO both to Finland and to the EU.

Finland is introducing special maritime transport security zones for the first time to ensure the safe passage of special transports by organizing other traffic in the area. The first safety zone for special transports was introduced in the Inkoo fairway. In the future, similar arrangements will be extended to merchant shipping lanes throughout Finland’s coastal area.