Patu Patanen will remain in protected Hamina building

Patu Patanen will continue as a tenant at the protected Tullimakasiini customs warehouse in Hamina after reaching an agreement with the city, Yle reports. The dispute began when the city planned to sell the building.

Patanen’s lawyer Jukka Sankamo and Hamina City Manager Ilari Soosalu confirmed the settlement to Yle. The agreement means Patanen will continue under the existing lease terms, and the matter is considered resolved.

The planned sale would have forced Patanen to move his collection of maritime museum objects. It would also have meant the departure of the museum ship s/s Hyöky, which is anchored in front of the Tullimakasiini in Tervasaari.

Patanen filed a lawsuit against the city in June at the Kymenlaakso District Court, seeking to have the termination of his lease declared invalid. He has now withdrawn the lawsuit.

“Now a new adventure begins,” Patanen told Yle. He said the situation was starting again from a clean slate, as if nothing had happened.

Soosalu indicated that some uncertainty remained about how the matter might proceed in the future.

Patanen said he did not intend to celebrate the turn of events extensively, although he joked that he might have a non-alcoholic beer.

It appeared in early June that Patanen would have to leave Tervasaari after more than 40 years. He also has a collection in central Hamina that is described as the world’s smallest maritime museum.