BPO Comprehensive Ports Working group chooses new Chairman

The decision for Villu Vatsfeld, CEO, Saarte Liinid, to become the next Chairman of Baltic Ports Organization’s (BPO) Comprehensive Ports Working Group (CPWG) has been made during an online meeting held by the group’s members earlier today.

Villu is a long-standing member of the group and has always been very active in pursuing its goals, including the best interests of comprehensive ports within the EU policy framework and raising awareness about the challenges faced by them among policymakers and maritime industry stakeholders.

CPWG’s freshly elected Chairman offered the following comments,

"The cooperation is added value in the world and it suits perfectly for the maritime, too. There is no port which could prosper all alone and there is always a need for at least one more port to set the sails for or from where to wait for arrivals. In bad times the co-operation is essential. Especially across borders. And this is why worlds ports and harbours have been, are now and will be in the future. To get more out of the ports and cooperation, going side by side at all levels, together with large, medium and small ports, is probably the best way to do it. I am very honoured to be a member of the BPO and its CPWG . I would like to thank my colleagues for trusting me with the position of the Chairman in the BPO CPWG team and I will try to keep up withe the quality work of my predecessor, Björn Boström, from the Port of Ystad. Together we are stronger."

Saarte Liinid, the company currently led by Villu, has been active since October 1st, 1994. Main fields of activity include the maintenance and development of their harbours, which means ensuring safe navigation for ferries between the Estonian mainland and the islands. Headquartered in Kuressaare, the company currently owns and operates eighteen ports and harbours.

The new Chairman will succeed Björn Boström, CEO of the Port of Ystad. Similarly to the new helmsman, Björn has been an active member of the CPWG since its inception in September 2016. Apart from the choice of the new leader of the group, members discussed a number of topics relevant to the position of comprehensive ports, especially the significant role they fulfill in the Baltic short-sea shipping network.

Current members of the CPWG include representatives from the Ports of Hanko, Kaskinen, Mukran, Oulu, Rønne, Stralsund, Wismar and Ystad. The group aims to present various viewpoints to EU institutions, fuel the discussion on topics and challenges relevant to the position of comprehensive ports, serve as a platform for the exchange of experience between port managers, as well as organize seminars and study visits and initiate multi-partner projects.