For Finland, shipping is far more than just a means of transporting goods. Around 96 per cent of our imports and exports are carried by sea, making shipping an essential part of both the economy and national security of supply. In an increasingly uncertain world, the importance of domestic fleets has only grown.
At RABN, we recently experienced first-hand how registering a ship under a different flag can impact day-to-day operations. When we acquired MV Jolie in 2025, she became the first vessel in our fleet to be registered under the Cyprus flag.
It took less than a year to realise that this solution was not the right fit for our way of working. The other seven vessels in our fleet sail under the Finnish flag, and their crews operate under a different model, so it proved difficult to maintain a similar company culture on Jolie.
Registering Jolie under the Finnish flag meant changing the vessel’s home port, crew, employment terms, and applicable legislation. However, our experience confirmed that we can achieve peak efficiency when our vessels have dedicated crews who share the same company culture, working practices, and sense of responsibility.
Competitive advantage built on people
International shipping is highly competitive, and Finnish shipping companies must continuously improve their efficiency to succeed globally.
Registering a vessel under the Finnish flag can be more expensive than in many other countries, and competitiveness is often measured by cutting costs. Our experience shows that operational quality, reliability, and experienced crews are equally important competitive advantages.
Our operating model is based on trust, giving our crews both responsibility and the independence to make decisions on board. Our experience with Jolie showed us that consistency across the fleet is one of our greatest strengths.
Reliable operations, experienced crews, and long careers within the company help us do our work well, benefiting both our customers and our business.
Shipping companies support Finland’s security of supply
Registering a single vessel under the Finnish flag may seem like a small decision in the global shipping market. For Finland, however, decisions like these contribute to something much larger.
In times of disruption, Finnish-flagged vessels and Finnish crews play an important role in the country’s security of supply. Maintaining domestic shipping capacity helps ensure that essential imports and exports can continue, even under exceptional circumstances.
From a shipping company’s perspective, achieving this requires a long-term and predictable maritime policy. Investments in vessels, people, and operations are made over decades, and maintaining competitiveness requires a stable operating environment.
At RABN, registering Jolie under the Finnish flag was ultimately a business decision. It strengthened our operations, reinforced our company culture, and supported the long-term competitiveness of our fleet.
At the same time, we firmly believe that decisions like these help strengthen Finland’s maritime expertise and security of supply. Reliable operations cannot be created overnight: instead, they depend on the work of strong domestic shipping companies.