Finnish Border Guard Escorts Russian Vessel Away During Brief Incursion

 

Finland’s Ministry of Defense is reporting what it terms a suspected territorial waters violation in the eastern Gulf of Finland by a Russian vessel. The Border Guard clarified that it was a brief incursion by a Russian research vessel and while it is not common at sea, the incursion was handled in a routine manner and lasted just seven minutes.

The Border Guard says it detected the vessel using its normal observation tools and dispatched a patrol boat to intercept the vessel. The Russian vessel, which is now being identified as the research ship Mikhail Kazansky, officially crossed the maritime border at 12:31 p.m. local time on July 26. 

The patrol ship attempted to contact the Russian vessel by radio but said it received no reply. After repeated attempts, it used “other means” to signal the Russian vessel to move out of Finnish waters. The Finnish patrol vessel remained alongside during the entire incursion and after seven minutes and traveling approximately 1.2 nautical miles in Finnish waters, the Russian vessel reentered international waters at 12:38 p.m.

Speaking with the media, a spokesperson for the Border Guard said weather and visibility did not explain the violation. They noted the weather was good and visibility clear, confirmed in a picture they released of the vessel. In the view of the Border Guard, “there was no reason to enter Finnish territory.”

The Ministry of Defense said the Border Guard would oversee investigating the incident.

The Mikhail Kazansky was one of three recently built Russian research vessels. The Finns noted it is unarmed and operated by the Hydrographic Institute of the Russian Baltic fleet. The vessel was designed for seabed exploration and various other underwater explorations.

Tensions in the region remain high with the Finland-Russia border officially closed since the start of the war in Ukraine. Finland reports frequent illegal crossings by individuals and in June four Russian military aircraft traveled about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) in Finnish airspace.

Last year, in another incident at sea, a gas line connecting Finland and Estonia was damaged as well as a Swedish telecom line. Investigators suspected a Chinese-owned containership may have dragged its anchor but the Chinese have been refusing to cooperate with the investigation. The suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline damaged in 2022 has never been solved.