Winter storage of boats

Merisatama  

Merisatamanranta, 00150 Helsinki (area near Carusel)  

• the area can accommodate 27 large boats 
• electricity and water available 
• mainly a winter storage for large boats  

This map shows how boats should be placed in Merisatama: Map of the unmarked storage area in Merisatama (pdf, in Finnish)  

Hernesaari  

Hernesaarenranta 1  

• no electricity or water available 
• approximately 100 places 
• summer storage of docking equipment and trailers   

NB: The wires of the tram line to Hernesaari may hinder the transport of large boats to the area. Therefore, the Hernesaari area is mainly recommended for storing boats which can be transported by trailer.  

Instructions on how to place boats in the area are available on the notice board. Map of the unmarked storage area in Hernesaari (pdf)   

Marjaniemi  

Niittyranta 19, 00930 Helsinki  

• approximately 100 places 
• electricity and water available 
• summer storage of docking equipment and trailers  

Pajalahti  

Vattuniemenkatu 26, 00210 Helsinki  

• approximately 125 places 
• electricity available 
• summer storage of trailers  

Puotila  

Meripellontie 11, 00910 Helsinki  

• approximately 500 places 
• electricity and water available          
• summer storage of docking equipment and trailers  

Strömsinlahti  

Abraham Wetterin tie 26, 00820 Helsinki  

• approximately 40 places 
• electricity and water available  

Ruusuniemi I 

(larger asphalted area)  

Merenkulkijankuja 1, 00980 Helsinki  

• approximately 100 places 
• electricity and water available 
• summer storage of docking equipment  

Ruusuniemi II 

(at the base of the breakwater)  

Merenkulkijankuja 6, 00980 Helsinki  

• approximately 50 places 
• no electricity or water available 
• summer storage of docking equipment and trailers 

• The masts must be overturned during winter.  

• Winter storage areas are not guarded.  

• Boats that have been unauthorisedly hoisted into the winter storage area or without a sticker will be removed from the area at the owner’s risk and expense.  

• Boats must not be docked in rescue corridors or green areas. This is prohibited in order to ensure the smoothness of rescue and ploughing operations and the general safety of the areas.  

• Unregistered trailers, also known as harbour trailers, are prohibited in winter storage areas. Only registered trailers and folding logs are allowed.  

Rental terms for winter boat storage space

The terms and conditions for renting a winter storage space from the City of Helsinki

1 Lessor

Culture and Leisure Division's Sports Services.

2 Lessee

A legally competent person from Helsinki or another municipality, or a company or organisation, to whom the Sports Services have rented a winter storage space from the City of Helsinki. The holder of the boat must be a legally competent person.

When registering in the booking system, the lessee must authenticate with strong identification and provide their personal, address and place of residence information, as well as information about the boat requested by the City of Helsinki's Sports Services. The lessee is responsible for ensuring that this information remains accurate and up to date during the rental period. Before making a reservation, the lessee must accept the agreement terms and conditions, the privacy policy and the marina rules.

Additionally, if the boat is co-owned, the owners must provide a copy of the registration certificate or a bill of sale that names all the boat's owners. The lessee of a winter storage space is always the person responsible.

Providing false or erroneous information on the lessee or their boat, or otherwise breaching the agreement, will result in the loss of the right to rent a winter storage space.

3 Rented boat winter storage space

The winter storage space for the boat is a boat winter storage spot located in the winter storage area maintained by the City of Helsinki's Sports Services and designated by the City of Helsinki's Sports Services.

The City of Helsinki's Sports Services have the unilateral right, if necessary, to assign the lessee a different winter storage space designated by the City of Helsinki, either temporarily or permanently. The lessee has no right to oppose the change of winter storage space or make any related claims.

If the new winter storage space belongs to a different price category or its services differ from the original, the rent will be adjusted accordingly for the lessee's next winter storage season based on the City's current price list. If the services are of a lower standard than the original, the difference will be credited to the lessee during the same winter storage season. If the lessee does not wish to accept the space, the rental agreement can be terminated and the money refunded to the lessee.

The size of the space is determined based on the actual space needed for the boat, its stands, covers and other equipment used for winter storage; the available and required maximum length x maximum width of the space.

The winter storage fee includes the option of storing the winter docking equipment of the boat in the summer at the lessee's own risk in a docking equipment storage area designated for the purpose by the City of Helsinki's Sports Services. In areas where the winter storage spaces for boats are clearly marked and numbered on the winter storage field, the rented winter storage space includes the designated and leased space.

4 Rental period

The rental agreement is valid until further notice. The rental period is the winter storage season for boats. The winter storage season for boats begins in the autumn, on 15 September, and ends in the spring of the following year, on 10 June.

The lessee is considered to be a Helsinki resident if their address is in Helsinki. The customer's address details are checked against the Population Information System in connection with strong authentication. Customer accounts are processed according to the information received from the Population Information System, for example when determining reservation rights. The customer is responsible for updating their address details. The rental agreement is terminated immediately if the customer fails to pay the winter storage fee.

At the winter storage spaces in the lifting order areas, the rental agreement is valid for one winter storage season at a time.  The lessee may not take their boat, trailer or other equipment to the winter storage area before the winter storage season begins. The lessee must move their boat, trailer or other equipment out of the winter storage space before the winter storage season ends. Boats, trailers and other items left or abandoned in the winter storage area outside the winter storage season are discussed in Section 12.

5 Determining the rent

The winter storage fee is determined based on the actual size of the winter storage space or slot required by the boat and the level of equipment in the area, in accordance with the current decision of the Culture and Leisure Committee.

6 Paying the rent

The rent for a winter storage space is paid online at the time of reserving a new space, at which point the rental agreement is considered to have been made. Customers with ongoing rental agreements must confirm and pay for their space annually by the due date. The due date refers to the last day of the booking period during which it is still possible to confirm the previous season's space for the upcoming season. The due date is absolute. If the lessee fails to make the payment by the due date, the space is considered to have been terminated by the lessee.

Winter storage spaces can be reserved within the booking periods specified by the Sports Services. The booking period refers to the time window in the reservation system during which only the customer groups defined by the Sports Services may reserve winter storage spaces. The booking period dates and the customer groups' booking rights for various periods are determined annually by the Sports Services. The customers are responsible for following and checking the current booking periods, due dates and terms related to reservations on the City of Helsinki's website or in the electronic system.

Winter storage space fees that have already been paid will not be refunded. Once the winter storage fee has been paid, the lessee receives a winter storage sticker, which must be attached to a clearly visible and easily noticeable spot on the boat. The sticker must be placed so that it is visible and easy to check when the boat is in the winter storage area. A boat in the winter storage area without a valid winter storage sticker is considered to be docked in an unauthorised space.

7 Transferring the rental agreement

In the event of the lessee's death, their beneficiary has the right to have the rental agreement transferred to their name.

If the boat has multiple owners, the right to rent the boat space can be transferred from one owner to another by presenting an electronic registration certificate. In cases other than those mentioned above, the right to rent a winter storage space cannot be transferred. The lessee is not allowed, even temporarily, to sublet or transfer the winter storage space for use by another party.

If the lessee gives up or sells their boat during the rental period, they remain responsible for all obligations under this agreement, regardless of any termination of the rental agreement, until the boat has been removed from the rental area and all responsibilities under this agreement – including any transfer, storage and monitoring costs – have been paid.

The rental right does not automatically transfer to a new owner. However, before transferring the boat, the lessee may submit a written request to the City of Helsinki's Sports Services to transfer the rental agreement to the new owner. The transfer of the agreement requires the explicit written consent of the City. Without such consent, the rental agreement cannot be transferred to the new owner and the new owner is not entitled to keep the boat in the area.

If the lessee does not make the abovementioned request or if the City does not approve the transfer of the agreement, the rental agreement is considered terminated by the lessee and the boat must be immediately removed from the rental area.

8 Notices and announcements

The lessee must promptly report or update any changes to their name, contact and address information, as well as the boat details, in the Population Information System or the Sports Services' boat space booking system. The lessee is always responsible for ensuring that this information remains accurate and up to date.

The lessor has the right to send the lessee notifications, announcements and requests related to the tenancy electronically or in writing to the address last provided by the lessee to the Sports Services or the customer profile in the boat space booking system.

9 Instructions and regulations

The lessee is obligated to comply with the Public Order Act, environmental protection legislation and other laws in force in Finland, as well as current official guidelines and regulations, the City of Helsinki's Sports Services' valid marina rules and other written instructions and orders issued by the lessor.

10 Liability for damage

The lessee must ensure that no waste, hazardous waste or any other substance that may degrade the quality of the soil, shoreline or seabed soil, water or air is discharged or released into the water, ground or air. If a substance or material that is detrimental or harmful to the quality of the soil or water is released into the soil or the water, or if such a substance or material is detected in the soil, the water or the water area, the lessee is obligated to immediately notify the rescue and environmental authorities and promptly initiate any necessary cleanup measures.

The lessee must ensure that the boat in the rented winter storage space or area is docked with due care. The lessee must also ensure that no danger, injury, harm or other damage is caused to the structures, devices or equipment of the marina or their users.

The lessor is not responsible for any property damage or personal injuries caused by a storm, flooding, abnormal weather conditions or other exceptional natural conditions. The lessor is also not liable for other unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the lessor which prevent the use of the site or cause property damage or personal injury. The lessee must immediately notify the lessor of any damage or faults detected in the structures, moorings or equipment.

11 Compensation for damage

The lessee is obligated to compensate the lessor or a third party for any damage they have caused.

12 Boats moored or abandoned in an unauthorised space

Boats and other belongings left in an unauthorised location, on City land or water, are subject to a removal notice stating the date and time by which the lessee must remove the boat or item from the area. If the lessee does not remove their boat and/or other belongings from the area by the date specified in the removal notice, the objects may be stored by the City of Helsinki at the expense and risk of the lessee and the boat owner. The boat's condition is inspected before transfer. A report is compiled of this inspection.

The lessee or the owner can reclaim their boat or belongings by paying the current transfer and storage fees determined by the Culture and Leisure Committee, as well as any other costs incurred by the City for the transfer and storage of the boat or belongings.

If the boat or belongings are not reclaimed within three months of being seized, they will be sold at a public auction. Auctions are announced separately. The lessee or the owner are notified immediately of the seizure and well in advance of the sale at the address that they have provided or that is otherwise known.

13 Moving a boat docked in the wrong winter storage space

If a boat is docked in the winter storage area anywhere other than the winter storage space or area designated by the Sports Services according to the rental agreement, the City of Helsinki's Sports Services have the right to immediately move the boat and charge the lessee for the costs incurred from the transfer.

14 Terminating the rental agreement

A lessee can terminate their rental agreement through the booking system. The City of Helsinki's Sports Services will consider the rental agreement terminated by the lessee if the lessee has not paid the winter storage fee by the due date or has other overdue boating fees unpaid to the City of Helsinki.

If the lessee breaches or neglects the duties or obligations stated in these terms and conditions, the City of Helsinki's Sports Services may terminate the rental agreement.

When the lessee terminates the winter storage rental agreement or the agreement otherwise ends, the lessee must immediately remove their boat and other belongings from the winter storage space or area when the agreement expires, and the space must be handed over free for use by the City of Helsinki's Sports Services.   

If a space rented by the customer is completely removed from winter storage use in a winter storage area that has designated winter storage spaces, the lessor has the right to immediately terminate the ongoing rental agreement.

15 Other considerations

Disputes arising from this agreement will primarily be resolved through mutual negotiations between the agreement parties. The parties must strive to negotiate in good faith and in a spirit of cooperation for at least two (2) months to resolve the dispute before the matter can be brought before a court. If the parties do not reach an agreement as a result of the negotiations, the dispute will be finally resolved in a general court, with the Helsinki District Court as the court of first instance. The agreement is governed by Finnish law.

If translations of these terms cause a conflict in their interpretation, the matter will be resolved based on the Finnish-language terms and conditions.