Ulla Tapaninen is an associate professor (maritime transport) at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia. She is also an adjunct professor (maritime economics and logistics) at the University of Turku, Finland. Tapaninen has over 30 years’ experience in logistics and maritime transport in academia and the public and private sectors. She has worked in key positions in two Finnish shipping companies (bulk and RoRo sector) and worked as a senior expert at the City of Helsinki in charge of maritime cluster development. She has published dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and reports, as well as other publications in scientific and non-scientific journals. She is a frequent speaker at seminars and has worked as a board member for several companies and other organizations. She has published a textbook, "Maritime Transport", with Kogan Page, presenting the fundamentals of maritime business. Keywords: maritime logistics, maritime transport, maritime economics, environmental issues in maritime transport