A new generation is on its way into the harbour

Kristoffer Longva Åsheim is only 35 years old. With that, he is just one year too late to become the youngest harbor master ever in Ålesund.

But he was never in doubt. Age should not prevent him from accepting the offer of the position when it came last autumn.

– It may have happened a little before what I had seen leading me, but I feel that I have the right background to handle such a position. And it has gone well so far, says Longva Åsheim.

He has a nautical education and worked for ten years on chemical tankers, construction boats and oil spill protection before joining the Ålesund Region’s Port Authority four years ago.

– The administrative part of port development only became more and more exciting for me, and when a position called administrative port inspector was created, I was not slow to thank no yes. Last year I was a substitute harbor captain, and although the learning curve was very steep, I think it was a lot of fun, because the days were varied and interesting. Getting to work on further developing the harbor was incredibly exciting, so I applied when they advertised the job, got the position and started in September.

Huge digital development

He is not the only “young person” who has joined the port authority in recent years. And there are a couple of others coming in over the next few months.

– In the maritime department, we have seven employees, three of whom are over 50, while the other four are in their 30s, says Longva Åsheim.

Synnøve Johnsen has many years behind her within the walls of Skansekaia, and she believes that what is happening now is a good thing. That a generation is passing out and a new one is coming in.

– When I started here in 2013, they still wrote the notes in books, and the digital development in the last ten years has been enormous, and it is very nice to bring in the younger guard who are good with data. The young people who have come in have contributed to the fact that we still have a good working environment and that is nice to experience. There will be a slightly different dynamic in everyday work and that is very nice, says Johnsen.

But she is aware that it is sad to lose good colleagues who have a long experience.

– The older guard had a lot of good and important expertise and that was something we really appreciated. The replacement has taken place little by little over the years, so that it has been possible to transfer the expertise that was here.

– It is important to have a good balance between young and old. And those who have retired have tended to be here for a very long time, which shows that it has been a safe and good workplace. We are also lucky that those who have left will be on-call substitutes so that we can use that expertise. There is an enormous amount of expertise and history that is disappearing, so it is very important to take care of it, so that we can use it, among other things, in training, says Longva Åsheim.

– What has been so positive about working with the harbor is that one day is never the same as another. There are many different tasks, and there is good cohesion between those who work here. It is simply a very nice workplace, says Johnsen.

– Be a future-oriented port

If you look at it on a Norwegian scale, it is not exactly a small port that the captain and the 15 other employees are responsible for.

– If we look at the number of passengers, we are the largest cruise port in Norway. We are a well-functioning machine and I think the service is incredibly good. We have become one of the largest fishing ports as well as the fact that we are large in cargo, so we are certainly a growing port. There is no doubt that Ålesund is a port city, says Longva Åsheim.

– We expanded on Flatholmen because Tyrholm & Farstad stagnated in Skutvika and had to have more area to grow. It was important, because Ålesund is absolutely a logistics hub in terms of goods. We like to say there are many cities by the sea, but there are few good harbor cities. And we want to be one of them, says Johnsen.

Longva Åsheim looks forward to helping develop the harbor further.

– We work very hard to be a future-oriented port. Among other things, it is about much stricter environmental requirements for the ships in 2030. We are already very active in developing shore power, so that there can be zero emissions from the ships’ arrival until they leave again. This applies both to cruise traffic on Sørsida and goods on Flatholmen. We invest large sums in shore power so that all ships and unloading cranes can be powered, and if we are to make such improvements, we are dependent on the income from cruise traffic.

– We must always keep in mind that we are a large port city when it comes to urban development. What makes us such a large fishing port is because of the great activity in the industry in the fjords. It is then important that Ålesund is attractive with waiting and emergency quays. It is important for us to maintain, adds the harbor master.