The John Nurminen Foundation participates in the Helsinki International Boat Show at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre on 7.-16. February 2014. The Helsinki International Boat Show is the largest boating event in Northern Europe.
At its stand and on the Show’s programme stage the John Nurminen Foundation exhibits the cultural heritage of the sea, and the Clean Baltic Sea projects (Hall 4, section 4a41).

The Finnish Transport Agency’s ENSI navigation service improves safety in the Gulf of Finland – Finland a forerunner in eNavigation services

The objective of the Foundation’s Tanker Safety joint project, established in 2009, is to reduce the risk of oil tanker accidents in the Gulf of Finland. In order to reach this goal, a navigation service (ENSI – Enhanced Navigation Support Information) was created, utilising existing technologies and structures. The service improves information exchange between vessels and vessel traffic control through improved and forecasting vessel traffic management. For the vessels, the system will provide navigation information.
The Finnish Transport agency is the main partner of the Tanker Safety project, and the owner of the ENSI system. The ENSI service is one of the first eNavigation services in the world to move on to the operational phase. It is incorporated to the authorities’ VTS system, and the goal is to integrate it to the GOFREP (Gulf of Finland Reporting System) system which monitors traffic in the Gulf of Finland. The Finnish Transport Agency also promotes dialogue between the authorities of Estonia and Russia, enabling the service to evolve into a seamless umbrella solution for vessels sailing the Gulf of Finland.
In 2013, all Neste Oil tankers participated in testing the service. The ENSI service is continuously developed further on the basis of feedback received from test use in the Gulf of Finland in early 2014, and more and more shipping companies are getting involved.
In December 2013, the Finnish Transport Agency and the John Nurminen Foundation signed a commitment to continue their cooperation until the end of June 2014. During this time, any errors and problems detected in the system will be corrected, and the service expanded to cover all vessel types. The John Nurminen Foundation will assist in service deployment, and continue to contact new shipping companies. The Foundation will detach from the project when a mechanism that will ensure the proliferation of ENSI amongst tankers in the Gulf of Finland has been established.

The ‘Horizon’ work of art gains length in the Jätkäsaari pier – donations materialise in a chemicals container in Gatchina

The Horizon campaign – initiated in the summer of 2013 at the Tall Ships Races, Helsinki 2013 event by the John Nurminen Foundation in collaboration with the Baltic Sea Challenge – is now well over half way there. The latest gleams bearing the names of donors were installed to the work of art in January 2014; the final length of the piece will be 54 metres, equalling the average depth of the Baltic Sea. By the end of 2014, the campaign has raised more than €140,000. In early February, approximately 1,400 gleams were still available for private donors. According to the preliminary schedule, the next instalments will be installed in March and May. The donations will be used to acquire, for example, a chemicals container delivered to Gatchina in northwestern Russia; after St. Petersburg, Gatchina is the second largest Russian city by the Gulf of Finland. The Foundation’s project, seeking to improve the efficiency of phosphorus removal from the wastewaters of Gatchina, is scheduled for completion this year.
Swim across the Gulf of Finland – with eyes on the protection of the Baltic Sea

Open water swimmer Tuomas Kaario, who will be on the Majakka stage at the trade fair, intends, with his Uimalla yli (swimming across) project, to cross the Gulf of Finland in July-August 2014. If he succeeds, Kaario will be the first person to swim across the Gulf of Finland without a wetsuit. With the swim across the Gulf, Kaario wants to draw attention to the protection of the unique marine area that is the Baltic Sea. The cooperation between Kaario and the John Nurminen Foundation began in January 2014.

“Carta Marina” by Olaus Magnus: a 16th century travel guide to the North

‘Carta Marina’ by Olaus Magnus, dating from the 16th century, is one of the best known maps depicting Scandinavia, and one of the milestones of cartography in North Europe. This map, drawn out by Olaus Magnus, the last Catholic Bishop of Sweden, laid the foundation for knowledge of the Nordic countries, and the impact it had on maps could still be felt more than one hundred years after its publication. In the map, Scandinavia and Finland in particular have been drawn out in a completely new way. The proportions of the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland are very close to correct. Olaus Magnus intended to demonstrate to the Pope and the Catholic Church the vastness of the areas they had lost with Gustav Vasa’s reformation. The map consists of hundreds of pictures and 900 names of locations, as well as other geographic and cartographic data. The map also describes natural environments, people, customs, winter, trade, industry, and historical events.
The stand at the fair features a large replica of the original Olaus Magnus map, published in 1539. Also on display are a map of the Gulf of Finland from 1596, and marine antiquities from the Foundation’s collection.

Moreover, the Foundation participates in the programmes on the Majakka stage, and the school tours organised for students from grades 3 to 5. Working their way through checkpoints, the students will learn about fishing, fish species, attend a school of knots, and learn about the protection of the Baltic Sea, boating, and water transportation.

John Nurminen Foundation on the Majakka stage

Friday 7 February

13:30 Close calls on the Gulf of Finland – how to mitigate the risk of oil catastrophes
Thomas Erlund, Finnish Transport Agency and Mikko Klang, Sea Captain, John Nurminen Foundation

Saturday 8 February and Sunday 9 February

11:30 Swimming across the Gulf of Finland – open water swimmer Tuomas Kaario discusses the challenge of being the first swimmer in the world to swim across the Gulf of Finland without a wetsuit, and what the protection of the Baltic Sea means to him. Tuomas Kaario is interviewed by Mikko “Peltsi” Peltola.
Monday 10 February
12:00 From myths to reality – the Baltic Sea depicted on maps from the 15th to 19th centuries
Maria Grönroos, John Nurminen Foundation

Wednesday 12 February
12:00 Compulsion to sail – The life and deeds of Eero Lehtinen, sailing all-rounder
Eero Lehtinen, who publishes his memoir in the spring, interviewed by Peltsi. Eero Lehtinen’s book will be published by the John Nurminen Foundation.
Tuesday 11 February, Thursday 13 February and Friday 14 February.

12:00 ‘Close calls on the Gulf of Finland – how to mitigate the risk of oil catastrophes’
Mikko Klang, Sea Captain, John Nurminen Foundation

Boat show opening hours:

Fri 7 February from 10 am to 6 pm Professionals’ day
Sat-Tue, 8 – 11 February from 10 am to 6 pm
Wed 12 February from 10 am to 8 pm
Thu-Sat, 13 – 15 February from 10 am to 6 pm
Sun 16 February from 10 am to 5 pm

Further information

The John Nurminen Foundation was established in 1992 on Juha Nurminen’s initiative to safeguard the cultural heritage of Finnish seafaring and maritime history. The purpose of the Foundation is to present and introduce the remarkable cultural heritage of the Baltic Sea to experts and the general public alike. In 2004, with the backing of the initial capital donated by Juha Nurminen, the Foundation expanded its operations to include environmental protection. At this time, the Clean Baltic Sea environmental projects were initiated as a second branch of the Foundation’s operations. The target of the projects is to reduce eutrophication in the Baltic Sea, and minimise the risk of oil accidents in the Gulf of Finland.