Stories about the Port of Naantali

Part 1. Port operations in Naantali back the Middles Ages

Compiled by Anne Pentti The port has always been an integral element of Naantali. Already in late Middle Ages Naantali…

Tupavuori seaside resort

On Naantalinsalmi straits a seaside resort was in operation from 1918 to 1940s. There was a pavilion, restaurant, sandy beach…

Port of Naantali – an excellent place for seafaring

The location of the present Port of Naantali, south of the city-centre, on Naantalinsalmi straits is a naturally suitable place…

Big industry finds the Port of Naantali

The construction of rock shelter for the State’s fuel depot (currently Neste) started in Tupavuori in summer 1944. The first…

First Port Director Antti Merilahti

In 1958, Antti Merilahti started work as a harbour pilot in Naantali. The post of Harbour Master was established in…

When all of Naantali shook

On the dark October night in 1958, a tremor was felt everywhere in Naantali. A tanker berthed in the Naantali…

The first harbour ice-breaker

In 1963, Naantali received Finland’s first modern harbour ice-breaker and tugboat, M/S Naantali. The ice-breaker helped with wintertime seafaring and…

Silja Line began to sail to the Port of Naantali

The first passenger ferry, Silja Line’s M/S Holmia, arrived in Naantali on its maiden voyage on 2 December 1965. The…

Train to Naantali, ship to Stockholm

In March 1967, a streamlined Swedish ship called S/S Starke built in the 1930s arrived in the Port of Naantali.…

20 vessels and 22 million passengers

A great deal happened in the Port of Naantali in 1967. Train ferry traffic had started in the spring, and…

New passenger terminal

The first terminal building in the Port of Naantali had been completed in 1965. The terminal was a simple building.…

Luonnonmaa shipyard – Navire Yard

Navire Yard’s shipyard was built on Luonnonmaa island in the early 1970s. The operations commenced in 1975. The shipyard repaired…

Free Zone warehouse started operation

In the late 1970s, shipbuilding operations had come to an end in Luonnonmaa, and the financial standing of the shipyard…

Inauguration of the new deep fairway

In 1986, The Port of Naantali had around one thousand metres of quays and a new 13-metre deep fairway which…

Arrival of giant ferries

The City of Naantali and Viking Line made an agreement in 1988 about new traffic arrangements in the port and…

Glass palace, equine sports centre and trap shooting range

The Port of Naantali was making grand plans and thinking of development projects. The City sold an area of over…

Viking Line’s passenger traffic ended

Port’s major investments did not attract passengers or new companies quite as planned. Traffic with giant ferries stopped short and…

Jackpot in sight

To salvage the Port’s profitable operations, tight and lively negotiations were held in 1996 on attracting new vessel traffic to…

Port traffic was made smoother

In January 2006, The Port introduced a new extension of the outdoor area and a two-berth ro-ro quay the other…

Deep fairway

The 120 kilometres long ship fairway from Utö to Naantali was completed to the depth of 15.3 metres in its…

Port and the pockets of the residents of Naantali

The Port of Naantali has secured the finances and well-being of the resident of the city for decades by generating…