One Sea, the high-profile ecosystem leading the way towards an operating autonomous maritime ecosystem, has announced the appointment of Captain Marko Rahikainen.

Capt. Rahikainen joins One Sea as Ecosystem Lead, bringing with him a wealth of maritime and maritime administration experience, with a particular focus on safety, security and facilitation. During his early career at sea, Capt. Rahikainen gained practical shipping experience working on board different ship types and having developed a keen interest in the application of rules and regulations in shipbuilding, joined the Finnish Maritime Administration in 2003 as Maritime Inspector.

From 2010, Capt. Rahikainen was employed by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom. Amongst other duties, he was the Representative of Finland to the EU Committee of Safe Seas from 2011-2019 and was heavily involved in the work to introduce Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) at IMO level. During his tenure, Capt. Rahikainen attended more than 50 IMO meetings and a comparable number of meetings regarding legislation, enforcement and inspections of maritime transport in the European Union.

Senior Ecosystem Lead, Paivi Haikkola, said: “I am delighted to welcome Marko to the One Sea team. Regulatory work will remain a primary focus for One Sea in 2022 as the need to develop and agree an internationally acceptable framework for autonomous ship operations intensifies. There are many benefits to using autonomous technologies on board, and regulatory oversight is key to ensuring that their ability to enhance safe ship operations is fully realised. Marko’s regulatory expertise and involvement in MASS development will prove invaluable to this process.”

Capt. Rahikainen said: “The urgent need for regulatory reform has become increasingly apparent in recent years as maritime transport continues to adopt autonomous technologies. I look forward to working with One Sea members, industry partners and the IMO in developing regulatory guidelines for MASS operations and helping to achieve One Sea’s autonomous shipping ambitions.”

The One Sea ecosystem has been creating opportunities for autonomous shipping through legislation and international advocacy since 2016. Members include international maritime technology experts, such as, ABB, Cargotec, Finnpilot, Fintraffic, Haltian, Kongsberg, Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI), Napa, TietoEVRY and Wärtsilä, as well as a range of stakeholders involved in aspects of vessel management.