Rails, icebreakers and passenger ships
South Harbour gained a railway and its first crane in 1894. The line extended to Katajanokka the following year, helping mechanise harbour work and link the waterfront with inland transport.
Winter conditions shaped the port’s development. In 1910, Hietalahti Shipyard built the harbour icebreaker Mercator, part of the transition away from a trade season cut short by frozen water. A Port Administration was established in 1921.
Passenger and cargo facilities continued to develop through the twentieth century. The Katajanokka passenger terminal was completed in 1977, when Finnjet began its Helsinki–Travemünde service. The historic photograph here shows an earlier working South Harbour; the webcam offers a separate present-day view.