Finland’s Meriaura returns to family ownership

Finnish shipping company Meriaura has been returned to family ownership under Meriaura Invest Oy’s 100% ownership.

The merger between Meriaura Group, the parent company of Meriaura Oy, and Summa Defence Oy, which integrates companies within the defense and security sectors, was finalized on June 9, 2025.

In the transaction, Meriaura Group acquired the entire share capital of Summa Defence Oy through a share exchange. The company’s name changed to Summa Defence Plc.

In connection with the transaction, Meriaura Group Plc sold its shares in Meriaura Oy to Meriaura Invest Oy. The arrangement does not cause changes to Meriaura Oy’s operations and does not affect Meriaura’s personnel, as per the company.

“Returning to family ownership strengthens us in terms of operational and financial efficiency and clarifies funding. We can now even better focus on core operations and advancing selected strategies, such as promoting emission-free shipping and fleet renewal,” Beppe Rosin, Meriaura CEO, commented.

“Being part of a listed company provided us with valuable insights and experience. Now we combine the agility of a family business with the good governance practices inherited from a listed company.”

In related news, the shipping company ordered two biofuel-powered Ecotrader cargo ships from Dutch shipyard Royal Bodewes in mid-April last year.

A month ago, Royal Bodewes held a keel laying ceremony for the first 6,750 dwt newbuild.

Featuring a length of 105 meters, the 1A ice-classed vessels are planned for delivery in January and December 2026. Specifically, As disclosed, the newbuilds will use both biofuel and diesel and will be equipped with Wärtsilä’s engine and Auramarine’s fuel supply systems, designed to accommodate different types of biofuels, allowing for fuel mixing during operation.

Meriaura’s long-term goal is to be a carbon-neutral shipping company by the end of the 2030s, significantly ahead of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) targets. The short-term goal is to improve carbon intensity, i.e., to reduce the amount of emissions relative to transport performance by 4% annually or 15% over four years starting from 2021.

In 2024, the shipping company’s total maritime emissions increased by approximately 6.5% compared to the previous year due to the increased fleet size. Carbon intensity decreased only slightly (18.0g CO₂/tkm in 2021, 16.5g CO₂/tkm in 2022, 16.8g CO₂/tkm in 2023, 16.6g CO₂/tkm in 2024).

“Success in reducing emissions consists of many small things together, the most important of which are minimizing ballast trips, maximizing vessel load factor, and optimizing port times. So far, we have succeeded in improving our carbon intensity by 7.8% compared to the year 2021,” Meriaura said in its sustainability report released on June 11.