Good food keeps the crew on course
Seafaring is demanding work – long periods away from home, a close-knit community, and routines that may at times be repetitive and then again sometimes physically very demanding. For many…
Blog
Year-End Reflections and Future plans
Year-End Reflections and Future plans
The past year has been marked by continued geopolitical turbulence and economic uncertainty. Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East persist, and globally, we are witnessing…
Understanding fuels, calculations and life cycle emissions
Understanding fuels, calculations and life cycle emissions
The phrase "What cannot be measured, cannot be managed" is well known among those who calculate emissions. To understand how emissions that contribute to climate change develop, they must be…
Why bio-oil?
Why bio-oil?
Meriaura has been using bio-oil in its fleet for over a decade. The set-up where Meriaura or its affiliates are involved in the whole process from sourcing the raw material,…
Meriaura Customer Story: Glass recycling company Uusioaines – zero waste circular economy
Meriaura Customer Story: Glass recycling company Uusioaines – zero waste circular economy
Have you ever wondered what happens to a glass bottle or jar after it has been returned to a recycling point? Before its next life as a new product it…
Towards a greener New Year
Towards a greener New Year
Once again, a year is coming to an end and at this point we usually tend to reflect on how our expectations for the year have realized. Regardless of what…
Steps towards fossil free shipping
Steps towards fossil free shipping
Numerous climate records have been broken during 2023. We experienced the warmest September by far in the measurement history, both in Finland and globally. It also looks like the whole…
Seafarer – an endangered species?
Seafarer – an endangered species?
The availability of experts in the maritime industry is a worry, and the industry is actively looking for ways to respond to the labor shortage and increase the attractiveness of…
Ready for summer and carbon neutral solutions
Ready for summer and carbon neutral solutions
Tomorrow will be the longest day/shortest night of the year and we are getting ready to celebrate Midsummer, which is known to be one of the highlights of the year for us…
Meriaura’s bio oil is ISCC EU certified
Meriaura’s bio oil is ISCC EU certified
Meriaura’s daughter company VG-EcoFuel collects recycled and waste-based oils generated as industrial by-products and processes them for further use at the company’s production plant in Uusikaupunki. Recycled oils are used…
Hopeful resilience
Hopeful resilience
It is hard to comprehend all the disturbing issues that have taken place during this past year. If this year has taught us anything, it’s that the unexpected can always…
Powered by recycled biofuel
Powered by recycled biofuel
At Meriaura's biofuel plant in Uusikaupunki, southwestern Finland, the newly commissioned biofuel line shines with its newness. Meriaura has been actively using biofuels made from recycled oils in its fleet…
Meriaura Group increases investments in renewable energy
Meriaura Group increases investments in renewable energy
On September 29th Meriaura´s parent company VG-Shipping Oy and Savosolar Oyj signed a conditional agreement where 100% of the shares in Meriaura Oy and VG EcoFuel Oy will be sold…
Responsibility is a long-term job
Responsibility is a long-term job
Meriaura’s second Sustainability report was published in June. Interest in corporate responsibility has risen in recent years, which is good. Trends tend to strengthen at times and weaken at times,…
Business as UnUsual
Business as UnUsual
Our March blog post was meant to be about something completely different than war. However, in a month, the war has changed the world more than the last two years…
Towards precise environmental goals
Towards precise environmental goals
During spring 2021 we recognized that our environmental work needed a boost. There was also a growing demand for transparent communication and reporting. We made two major decisions; to launch…
“The Normal” is cancelled – adaption is the recipe for future success
“The Normal” is cancelled – adaption is the recipe for future success
One year ago, I guess most of us were expecting 2021 to be a less extraordinary year than 2020. We expected the pandemic to be over and that we could revert…
Market roller coaster
Market roller coaster
We seem to live in rather strange times, when there is a market shortage of components, raw materials, containers, sand, truck drivers and God knows what. There are certainly several…
Emissions trading is needed to support carbon-neutral shipping
Emissions trading is needed to support carbon-neutral shipping
Shipping is considered one of the most difficult sectors to eliminate CO₂ emissions from. About 90% of world trade is transported by sea, and global shipping accounts for almost 3%…
Beach is not the right place for garbage
Beach is not the right place for garbage
When walking along the shorelines of the Archipelago Sea, one cannot ignore the amount of miscellaneous trash carried by seawater. Even on the non-habited islands, you can find the whole…
What you measure you can improve
What you measure you can improve
We have recently launched our first sustainability report and we are committed to issue an updated version on annual basis. The sustainability topic is and has always been present in…
Your Partner in the frontline of sustainable shipping
Your Partner in the frontline of sustainable shipping
We are happy to introduce our new logo and renewed brand image, which henceforth will be uniform for the entire Meriaura Group. Although the legal structure among the companies within…
Maritime logistics must be included in emissions trading
Maritime logistics must be included in emissions trading
The pressure to expand emissions trading to logistics and transportation is high. Last year, the EU proposed that shipping should be integrated into the European emissions trading scheme under an…
Together through the special year
Together through the special year
A year ago, we could not have imagined how exceptional this year was going to be because of the corona pandemic. On the dry cargo market, we experienced an unprecedented…
Highlights of 2020 in Meriaura Projects
Highlights of 2020 in Meriaura Projects
It is obvious that no one could have predicted the prevailing circumstances when we welcomed the new decade almost exactly a year ago. Still, a crisis is perhaps not the…
Despite the pandemic – time to look ahead!
Despite the pandemic – time to look ahead!
As known, predicting the future has always been challenging, and it is no exaggeration to say that under the prevailing circumstances it is even harder than before. Nevertheless, this is…
Thank you and goodbye Hamina!
Thank you and goodbye Hamina!
For about 2,5 years ago Meriaura was approached by a client, asking us if we could take care of the Agency in port of Hamina for a big International project.…
Saving the sea!
Saving the sea!
In the beginning of the week the government of Finland (like many others) announced that the state of emergency is over. Before that we had already taken steps towards ”the…
Transport service in extraordinary circumstances
Transport service in extraordinary circumstances
We are indeed living in extraordinary circumstances, that few of us/if any could have imagined only a few months ago. The prevailing situation have changed our way of living, thinking…
2019 – A year full of energy for Meriaura Projects
2019 – A year full of energy for Meriaura Projects
Another year filled with exciting projects is coming to its end. Our special ladies have been serving the European energy sectors throughout the years, and this trend held its ground…
Heading towards the new decade
Heading towards the new decade
Again we are counting the last days for another year that have passed and it´s time to sum up what have been achieved, what went well and where there´s possibly…
Meriaura EcoVoy Contract – a small step for a company but a giant leap for the shipping industry
Meriaura EcoVoy Contract – a small step for a company but a giant leap for the shipping industry
Although shipping is considered to be very conservative, the winds of change are getting noticeable stronger and the pressure to reduce our environmental impact is increasing day by day. Meriaura…
Meriaura Group aims to create a zero-waste fleet
Meriaura Group aims to create a zero-waste fleet
At the end of last year, we reported on research collaboration with the Finnish Transport Safety Agency TRAFI for reducing ship-generated waste. The purpose of the study was to assess what…
Studying shipping in the Brexiting Maritime world
Studying shipping in the Brexiting Maritime world
As many of you know I have been living in Southampton, England since September 2018 and studying at Solent University a degree in Master of Business and Administration in International…
Meriaura takes its fleet to the next level
Meriaura takes its fleet to the next level
The old saying that “only change is permanent” is in today’s world perhaps more relevant than ever before. Although economical and political issues always involve uncertainty regarding the direction and…
Fair trade shipping
Fair trade shipping
After a long economically weak period, we have now been enjoying an economic boom already for a while. Whatever the phase of the business cycle, however, it is important for…
A thrilling autumn at Meriaura Group!
A thrilling autumn at Meriaura Group!
We are getting stronger both at sea and ashore. Our new T/C-vessel AIRISTO joined the fleet recently. She is the first one in the bigger segment, 8000-tonners, which we wish to establish…
Winterlife onboard
Winterlife onboard
After a few years’ break this year there’s quite a hard ice situation in the Northern Baltic. For people ashore the cold and ice are welcome, but for ships hard…
Tough winter conditions – a useful reminder
Tough winter conditions – a useful reminder
Only three months ago, it looked like we were facing another mild winter with only limited impact on the shipping industry. However, King Bore (a fairy tale character who is…
Towards lighter times
Towards lighter times
Within a week we will reach the turning point, when the daylight time slowly starts to increase again, which usually has a positive impact on the mindset of most people…
Notes from a fresh fan of maritime Turku
Notes from a fresh fan of maritime Turku
Spending a few months by the Aura river, and especially at the Turku port, have made me look at Turku with different eyes. In addition to lovely people, beautiful landscapes…
Firming market despite poor outlook for the domestic grain harvest
Firming market despite poor outlook for the domestic grain harvest
After several years of poor demand in dry bulk shipping, the market is now showing significant growth on the demand side. The signs of a firmer market, have been visible…
