Anny goes West

Anny von Hamburg

Anny von Hamburg moves her home port from Ekenäs to Mariehamn - "We received as many tourists in one Sunday as in Ekenäs in two years."

After two years of collecting and reviewing visitor data in Ekenäs (Tammisaari), the traditional schooner Anny von Hamburg has now officially changed her base. 

Largely the lack of future prospects in Ekenäs port became the deciding factor, which made the ship's management look for new venues.

Ekenäs last had significant visitors in the 90s, such as the m/v Delfin Clipper, but the marketing of the port has declined and the development has not succeeded in attracting new, large visitors. Time will tell how the port will manage in the future. 

Back in its hey-day it was the port captain Artzen who professionally marketed the port. He also had his own Company Eke-Marin that saw to discharging China clay cargoes and port operations. Ekenäs was a working port some 20 years ago,  it has true potential with 120m of quayside and a 6m deep fairway. 

Nowadays the port is filled with pontoons for leisure boaters that remain empty. Like Delfin Clipper, many small mini-cruisers look for picturesque and quaint ports outside of the busy commercial ports with good connections. It remains to be seen when the good people of Ekenäs will wake up to this fact and have a revelation with a vision. 

Juha Pokka

Juha Pokka

During the winter of 2025/2026 the long time skipper extraordinaire, Captain Juha Pokka, of Anny von Hamburg also underwent major preventative maintenance. His ticker was tuned up so he's back to 100% after a few months convalescence period and the spring maintenance period saw AvH back in shape for the summer of 2026 with the change of venue as well.

The decision to move to Åland proved to be an immediate success. The ship's owners were completely flabbergasted by the recent statistics from Mariehamn. 

Thanks to the busy cruise ship traffic, Anny von Hamburg reached the same number of tourists and potential customers in just one Sunday vs. in two whole years in Ekenäs.

The observed change confirms a clear rule of thumb: a functioning harbor and sufficient depth attract large flows of visitors and wider, more professional customer base networks. In particular, the daily large cruise ships bring a constant and high-quality tourist flow to the port.

Mariehamn

The decision to move to Åland proved to be an immediate success. The ship's owners were completely flabbergasted by the recent statistics from Mariehamn. 

Anny von Hamburg looks forward to the future in this best and most dynamic port environment and central reach in the Baltic Sea for tall ships.

All pictures by Guillermo, Master Chef