The marina pontoons intended for the Toppila marina in the Finnish city of Oulu have been seized and put up for auction without the city knowing about it, adding another complication to a project that was already running behind schedule.
The unusual situation emerged after a local resident alerted the City of Oulu to the online auction on Monday. According to Yle, the steel pontoon structures had been seized from Toppilan Terwa Marina Oy, the company responsible for developing the marina. Yle’s report on the Toppila marina case
Oulu city surveyor Veikko Lehtinen said the city had received no notification that the pontoons had been seized.
“We were not informed that the pontoons had been seized and had appeared at auction. We have submitted a request for clarification to the tenant.”
The episode is particularly problematic because the city had been trying to secure the same pontoons as collateral for the troubled marina project.
Oulu no longer wants to continue the marina agreement
The Toppila marina project had already fallen behind its agreed construction schedule. In August, Oulu’s Urban Environment Committee decided that the pontoons should serve as security for the project, with the intention that they would pass to the city if the project agreement were terminated.
However, Terwa Marina had not yet signed the revised agreement containing those security arrangements when the pontoons were seized.
The latest development appears to have further weakened the city’s confidence in the project. Lehtinen told Yle that the auction did not improve expectations that the marina would eventually be completed.
Oulu Urban Environment Director Marko Kilpeläinen went further, saying the city no longer intends to continue its agreement with Terwa Marina.
“We are now examining this from a legal perspective, and if another committee decision is required, the matter will be taken to the committee.”
The original operating agreement between Oulu and Terwa Marina was signed in October 2020, while the lease for the marina area runs until the end of 2042.
Five pontoons attracted a €35,600 bid
The auction involved five steel pontoon elements intended for the marina. Four are 12 metres long and one is 19 metres long.
They were offered both individually and as a single lot in an enforcement auction that ran from 14 to 28 September. The official auction listing states that the structures had been seized and were being sold under Finland’s enforcement rules. Official auction listing for one of the seized pontoons
The highest bid for all five together was €35,600. The auction has ended, but senior enforcement inspector Heikki Similä had not yet decided whether the bids would be accepted, meaning the sale was not yet final when the case became public.
Under the revised timetable previously granted to Terwa Marina, the floating pontoons were supposed to be installed and operational by the end of May 2027, with the marina due to open by mid-June.
The company’s CEO, Jouni Tahkola, declined to comment on the situation to Yle while the matter was still unfolding.
