Olli-Pekka Brunila and Vappu Kunnaala-Hyrkki: Is Finland’s foreign trade sailing the wrong course?

The maximum fairway due per vessel call is € 94,408 for cargo and high-speed vessels, € 28,414 for passenger vessels, and € 38,990 for cruise ships. Fairway dues for passenger and high-speed vessels are payable for the first 30 vessel calls per calendar year, while for cargo vessels, the dues are payable for the first 10 calls per calendar year.

High fairway dues can hinder Finland’s international trade
Fairway dues have been halved since 2015 under temporary legislation. In 2023, the Finnish government signaled in its government program that fairway dues would remain halved at least until 2027, with the reduction possibly becoming permanent. However, 2024 brought a different outcome. On December 19, 2024, the President of Finland ratified an amendment to the Act on Fairway Dues and repealed the temporary fairway dues legislation. The amendment raised unit prices and maximum fairway due amounts by 75.2%. Additionally, the separate discount granted for the transit transport of exports was removed from the legislation. Other aspects of how fairway dues are determined remained unchanged.

The increase in fairway dues is expected to generate approximately €36 million in additional revenue for Finland’s state budget. However, compared to the €89.2 billion state budget for 2025, this is a relatively insignificant sum, especially considering its impact on Finland’s exports.

The fairway dues increase directly raises transportation costs, which are quickly transferred to the cost structures of industries and trade. Particularly vulnerable are sectors that use large cargo vessels to transport low-margin products, such as raw materials and products in the forest industry. The competitiveness of these sectors relies on cost-effective transportation solutions, and higher fairway dues may weaken their ability to compete internationally.

Moreover, EU emissions regulations impose additional cost pressures on the shipping industry, estimated to increase annual costs by €500–600 million. The hike in fairway dues exacerbates this situation, adding further pressure to industries already squeezed by global competition and high costs.

Fairway dues can have a far-reaching impact in South-Eastern Finland
The impacts of these increases are not evenly distributed, hitting hardest in regions and ports that serve as hubs for export activities. For instance, the Port of Hamina-Kotka, Finland’s largest export port, accounts for approximately 30% of all fairway dues.

There are also major investment plans in the same area, such as a battery materials plant, a plant producing renewable methane and hydrogen, and other investments plans in the field of green transition. Increases in fairway dues may not necessarily delay the investments, but other areas and countries are also competing for the same investments, and thus, from an investors' perspective, all additional costs are naturally a negative factor and reduce the attractiveness of the region, especially if transport volumes are large. 

From the perspective of a regional higher education institution, new green technologies bring opportunities for both education and RDI activities. An understanding of emerging technologies and their implementation in education and working life are needed as well as new experts on the field. On the flip side, the current geopolitical situation, the relocation of investments, and increased logistics costs affect, for example, students' practical training opportunities and future work prospects, at least on a regional level, but potentially even nationally.