Peter Forsberg awarded title of Port Hampuusi for 2025

Born in Kotka in 1963, Peter Forsberg came to Turku to study economics with the plan of returning to Kotka after graduation, initially for summer work at Ahlström. The plans quickly changed, however, when Forsberg found a girlfriend in Turku, which led him to the port of Turku to be a field worker for Viking Line immediately after May Day 1984. And Viking Line is where he stayed for more than 42 years.

“My work has involved all kinds of things in the more than four decades I’ve been here. I have surely done almost all aspects of shipping company work that is carried out in the port, including everything from transport clerk to terminal manager. There were always new opportunities arising and being offered, so it was easy to stay at Viking Line. In my current position, I am responsible for the traffic and terminal operations at all ports in which Viking Line operates”, Peter Forsberg says to describe his career path in the service of the shipping company.

Environmental responsibility is now at the heart of operations

Over the course of a long career, changes have taken place in the shipping company, in the fleet and in the market. One of the biggest issues has been the increasing importance of environmental issues within maritime and logistics.

“Viking Line has been a sector pioneer in environmental matters. Viking Grace, which began operating along our Turku route in 2013, was the world’s first LNG-fuelled passenger ship. In 2022, it was joined by Viking Glory, and both have been utilising up to 50 per cent renewable biogas alongside its use of fossil-based LNG”.

“Our most important environmental project in recent years is the Green Corridor between Turku and Stockholm, which aims to create a fossil-free sea route between the two cities by 2035. As part of the project, we are exploring the possibility to operate partially with the use of electricity by the end of the 2020s”, says Peter Forsberg.

Working together towards a new terminal

Peter Forsberg has been long been actively involved in developing the operations of the port of Turku in co-operation with the port organisation and other actors. In recent years, special attention has been required for the Ferry Terminal Turku project of the Port of Turku, which involves the building of a joint passenger terminal for Viking Line and Tallink Silja.

“The aim of the new joint terminal is to ensure the functionality and speed of port visits, to bring synergies to different activities and to strengthen the shared use of resources and co-operation between the shipping companies and the port. The design phase was carried out in a good spirit with the common goal of ensuring the efficiency of the terminal, supported by the utilisation of digitalisation and automation in the loading and unloading of vessels. With regard to technological solutions, I would have liked a slightly more innovative approach, but the level achieved through compromise will indeed be satisfactory. The essential thing is for the technology to provide the possibility for future upgrades and improvements, for example, as artificial intelligence advances further.

According to Port Hampuusi 2025, Peter Forsberg, co-operation with the port company and other operators has been productive, easy and smooth when it came to, for example, the development of safe and efficient port processes. Together, solutions have been sought and found to reduce the impact of traffic disruptions and the construction of the Ferry Terminal Turku project, among other things.

“Once the new joint terminal is completed, the importance of co-operation will further increase, as terminal services will be transferred from the shipping companies to the port company. I am sure that, through collaboration, we will make the port of Turku even more functional and interesting for both passenger and cargo traffic.”

Text: Kari Ahonen
Photos: Markku Koivumäki