Pori and Tampere Museums Open Twin Shows on Finland’s Marine Engineering, Featuring Lokomo’s MIR Submersibles

Satakunnan Museum and the Emil Aaltosen Museum announced in a joint press release that twin exhibitions exploring Finland’s rise as a marine engineering powerhouse open on 11 April 2026 at the Rosenlew Museum in Pori and the Emil Aaltosen Museum in Tampere. The two shows present linked but distinct perspectives on work carried out by Rauma-Repola Oy units.

In Pori, Syvällä / pinnalla – meritekniikkaa Mäntyluodosta (Deep / On the Surface — Marine Engineering from Mäntyluoto) highlights the people who built oil platforms at Mäntyluoto: welders, designers and engineers. Scale models, tools and photographs recreate life at the yard and show how the 1970s oil crisis and the North Sea boom pushed demand for large offshore structures. The Rosenlew Museum notes the yard once employed over 1,500 people at its peak, supported by a similar number of subcontractors; oral-history work begun after a 2023 reunion produced more than 30 interviews used in the show.

Johanna Jakomaa, director of Satakunnan Museum, called the exhibition and its supporting research a strong example of preserving and sharing workplace memories together, and said the timing is relevant now that new kinds of production have restarted at the Mäntyluoto site. Partners on the Pori project include the Emil Aaltosen Museum, the University of Turku’s digital culture and heritage programme, local industrial heritage networks and numerous former yard workers.

In Tampere, Syvällä / pinnalla – sukellusaluksia Lokomolta (Deep / On the Surface — Submersibles from Lokomo) traces the formerly secret Lokomo project to build the MIR research submersibles. Planning began in 1982, and after a 1983 industry meeting called by Rauma-Repola CEO Jouko Seren, work moved fully to Lokomo’s marine-technical works. Chief designer Sauli Ruohonen led a team of about 50; MIR-1 and MIR-2 were completed in October 1987. Sea trials began from Mäntyluoto on 11 November 1987, with deep-water tests carried out 13–15 December near Cape Verde and pilot Pekka Laakso among the crew. The vessels were handed over to the client on 17 December 1987.

Mika Törmä, director of the Emil Aaltosen Museum, said museum staff and former makers contributed 28 personal accounts that add a human dimension to a technically ambitious project that left a mark on Tamperean industry. The Emil Aaltosen Museum’s partners on the show include the Rosenlew Museum, Metso Finland Oy and Tevo Lokomo Oy.

The Pori exhibition runs until 31 October 2027; the Tampere show closes 18 October 2026. A scale model of the MIR submersible will remain on display in Tampere through autumn 2026 before moving to Pori for the Rosenlew Museum presentation. Both museums commissioned a short film, Syvää osaamista (Deep Expertise), featuring first-hand recollections, and plan related talks and events for autumn 2026.