Kimmo Naski elected as the new Chairman of the Baltic Ports Organization

Dr Kimmo Naski, the CEO of the Port of HaminaKotka, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Baltic Ports Organization (BPO). The vote took place during the annual event organized by the BPO, the Baltic Ports Conference, held on 6 – 7 September in Szczecin, Poland.

The current CEO of the Port of HaminaKotka, Dr Naski has been at the helm of the port’s operations since 2011. Prior to this, he led the Ports of Kotka and Pori, respectively as Managing Director in years 2002 – 2011 and Port Director in years 1998 – 2002. His vast experience reaches as far as 1988, when he was active as Viking Line Finnlandverkehr’s vice managing director for continental Europe, Baltic States and Russia until 1998. He rises to the role of Chairman of the BPO after a successful tenure as Vice Chairman.

Dr Naski also performs his duties as the Chairman of the Logistics Committee of the German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce, Board Member of the Finnish Central Chamber of Commerce and British Honorary Consul.

BPO’s new Chairman offered the following comment: ”BPO was established in 1991. Since then it has been doing a great job in promoting and networking the Baltic Sea Ports. I strongly believe this is also the right way to meet the future”.

Dr Naski succeeds Julian Skelnik, who remained a prominent figure not only in the BPO, but the whole Baltic maritime community, for over 11 years. Skelnik steps down as Chairman of the BPO, leaving an entity that matured throughout the years, becoming one of the most well-regarded and recognized voices in questions surrounding the decisions influencing the development of the Baltic ports.

The new Chairman was voted in during the General Assembly, taking place during the second day of the annual Baltic Ports Conference. Dr Naski’s appointment was accompanied by the election of remaining Board Members, chosen from among the representatives of various Baltic ports. Dr Gernot Tesch (Port of Rostock) and Martynas Armonaitis (Port of Klaipeda) will assume the duties of Deputy Chairmen. Other Members of the Board include Jakob Flyvbjerg Christensen (Port of Aarhus), Ville Haapasaari (Port of Helsinki), Valdo Kalm (Port of Tallinn), Ansis Zeltiņš (Port of Riga), Piotr Nowak (Port of Gdynia) and Johan Castwall (Ports of Stokcholm).

Baltic Ports Conference 2018

This year’s edition of the Baltic Ports Conference focused on multiple issues currently relevant to the maritime sector in the Europe and the Baltic region. From a thorough market overview and its impact on maritime transport, through the examination of various financial instruments supporting the development of port infrastructure to the impact of LNG on the port sector.

Topics discussed during the second day were centered around Baltic ports’ vast experience in LNG bunkering, stemming from performing LNG bunkering operations on a regular basis, as explained in a presentation by Bogdan Ołdakowski, the BPO Secretary General. Paweł Jakubkowski, CEO at Polskie LNG, gave a practical example, presenting the expansion plans of the LNG terminal in Świnoujście and its role as a door to the CEE gas market. A broader view, discussing the cooperation between multiple stakeholders in promoting the usage of LNG as fuel for ships, has been offered by Prof Stefan Jankowski, representative of the Go LNG Project and faculty member at the Maritime University in Szczecin.

A study tour to the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście concluded the event attended by well over 150 delegates from every corner of the European maritime community.

For more information please contact:

BPO Secretariat
c/o Actia Forum
ul. Pułaskiego 8, 81-368 Gdynia, Poland
+48 58 627 21 93
bpo.office(at)actiaforum.pl
BPO is registered in Tallinn, Estonia