Helsinki Shipyard Oy, the shipbuilder in the Finnish capital, turns one on May 20 and in spite of the COVID-19 outbreak, the company decided to celebrate the event by sending greetings to all members of its staff.

At the same time, the company unveiled the results of a survey which showed that working remotely had become hugely popular among the part of its personnel who are able to do this.

“The first year of our operation has accommodated many positive events, such as a sale of two expedition cruise vessels, a completely new brand image, the launch of Helsinki Shipyard's own website, the introduction of AVEVA, the production of expedition cruise vessel blocks in Klaipeda, and much more,” the company said in a statement.

“Remote working has brought its own spice to the first year, creeping in from the shipyard’s gate along with the corona as a whole new way of working for us shipyard’s people. About 80% of designers and other office persons have done remote work during the pandemic.”

The company said remote working, it has come to the shipyard to stay, as up to almost 95% of the respondents are interested in working remotely in the future as well. However, remote workers miss the corridor discussions at the office and the social proximity of the office.

“Remote working has also spawned a new form of shipyard info, HS Live shows, which have gained a great popularity among the staff. However, remote working is not possible in the yard's production even during a pandemic, so in that sense it is good that the production work of the expedition cruise vessels at the yard will not start until August,” the company said.