On October 12 and 13, 2011, the regular Russian-Finnish Maritime Assembly took place in Kronstadt and Ust-Luga.
On October 12 and 13, 2011, the regular Russian-Finnish Maritime Assembly took place in Kronstadt and Ust-Luga.
Maritime Assemblies have been held by Information and Business Centers of St.Petersburg in Kotka and Turku, supported by local authorities, for the past 5 years (annually, in turns – once in Finland, once in St.Petersburg).
Maritime Assembly was attended by over 50 representatives from both sides. On the Russian side, there were representatives of the Maritime Council at the St.Petersburg Government, the Baltic Marine Society, the Museum of the Global Ocean, and other organizations involved in marine issues. On the Finnish side, there were heads of the Regional Council of Kymenlaakso, representatives of the Administration of Kotka City, as well as specialists Marine Research Center, University of Kymenlaakso, representatives of Helsinki and Turku. A.M.Goroshko, Head of the Administration of Kronstadt District, gave a speech greeting the Assembly . The event was also attended by V.I.Safronov, a representative of St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations.
The agenda, like of previous maritime assemblies, included the questions of general maritime history and joint “maritime” projects.
The historical part of the Assembly consisted of presentations on conservation and usage of Russian coastal fortifications in Finland and Russia, marine cultural and natural heritage of Russia.
The main part of the Assembly was devoted to discussion of joint maritime projects. During the Assembly, stage-by-stage results of the project PeckOn (Arranging the safe navigation of small vessels in the Gulf of Finland) were considered, funded by the program of cross-border cooperation of ENPI CBC.
Particular attention was paid to the concepts of new joint projects, such as “Baltic Sea Maritime and Natural Heritage”, organizing the ferry passenger cruise Kunda (Estonia) – Kotka (Finland) – Kronstadt (Russian Federation), creating the Gulf of Finland underwater park, and the project on cooperation of naval museums at the Baltic Rim.
During the event, the participants of Maritime Assembly also had an opportunity to get acquainted with a multi-cargo port in Ust-Luga, as well as with a project of the Museum of Naval Glory in Village Vistino, Leningrad Region.
Following the two days of the meetings, organizers and participants noted the success of the event and agreed to continue the tradition of marine assemblies in the future.
News source: St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations