I am Mika Tapanainen and I work as a Port Agent for Euroports Pietarsaari. In car racing terms, ship clearance services could be described as the ship’s pit stop crew. In a way, being a port agent is a calling because I, for one, tend to keep track of the situation at the port also on my free time.

Ship clearance involves a large variety of services which means that my job involves staying in touch with many different parties. We are in constant contact with the operators in charge of forwarding as well as the ship owners and the ship crews, particularly the captain and the chief mate. Additionally, we are in contact with the authorities about the crew changes, for example. We also take care of all necessary notifications to the authorities concerning ship arrivals and departures. 

We manage day-to-day business with several different operators. Needs for various spare parts, oil, fuses, or other operationally important features may have arisen aboard the ship during the voyage. We mainly procure the necessary items in the Pietarsaari area, but if we are notified a few days in advance, we can acquire more unique items from across Finland or abroad.

At Pietarsaari, we have three port agents in total. Two of us work at the office during the daytime and one is on-call during the evenings, nights, and weekends. This way one of us is always available. Our excellent group spirit allows us to manage everything quickly as a team.

I began working for Euroports near the end of 2018. Previously I worked in industrial equipment sales for about 15 years. I wanted to do something new for a change and I got a temporary position in the ship clearance services here and I was later offered a permanent position. I have enjoyed this work a lot.

My previous experience in sales helps with many things. I am used to working with people, keeping in touch with several different parties and searching for different things in order to respond to the needs of the customers. I have a wide network and I can usually find everything I need with a few phone calls. 

At Pietarsaari, we work with different parties in three different languages, Finnish, Swedish and English, so having a knack for languages also helps a lot. In this work, it helps to be socially brave, and you have to be able to find the relevant information and understand diverse people and ships as well. We represent the ship at the port, so we have always been welcomed aboard the vessels.

My work is very varied, and no two days are alike in this job. It makes it very enjoyable. Of course, we have our routine tasks, but we manage many unusual requests on top of them. Sometimes we book doctors and dentists appointments for the crew. Or it could be anything under the sun really, you never know what kind of a situation you will face next.

I live in Sokaluoto, located approximately twenty kilometers south of Pietarsaari. In my free time I enjoy hunting and shooting sports. I also fish a bit. I prefer hunting moose, white-tailed deer, and roe deer. 

Mika Tapanainen
Port Agent
EUROPORTS PIETARSAARI