A photograph of coastal defence ship Ilmarinen on 18 August 1941, less than a month before it sank (18 August 1941). Photo: Vilho Heinämies. SA photo
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The Finnish Navy has launched a new phase of investigation into the Ilmarinen shipwreck, a sunken coastal defense vessel from World War II, in a concerted effort to prevent a potential environmental disaster. The operation, running from August 12 to 18, aims to assess the condition of the wreck and plan the safe removal of its hazardous oil cargo, which poses a significant threat to the Baltic Sea.
The Ilmarinen, which sank on September 13, 1941, after striking a mine in the northern Baltic Sea, rests approximately 80 meters underwater, about 40 kilometers south of Utö Island. The vessel’s fuel tanks, containing an estimated 100,000 liters of light fuel oil, have become a growing concern for environmental authorities due to the ongoing corrosion of the wreck’s structure and the regular emergence of oil droplets from its hull.
In response to these risks, the Finnish Environment Institute, now responsible for monitoring hazardous shipwrecks under an amendment to the Environmental Protection Act that took effect in 2023, is leading the investigation in coordination with the Navy and the Finnish Border Guard. This effort follows preliminary investigations conducted in August 2023, which revealed significant corrosion on the wreck’s surface and underscored the urgent need for action.
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Kai Mykkänen, emphasized the importance of the mission: “Removing the oil from Ilmarinen will protect the Baltic Sea by reducing the risk of oil spills from the wreck. At the same time, we will strengthen the expertise of the authorities and other actors in cleaning up shipwrecks. There are almost thirty shipwrecks in Finland’s territorial waters, which are a risk to the environment.”
The latest operation aboard the multipurpose vessel Louhi includes material thickness measurements and the collection of new images using divers and underwater robots. These will aid in the construction of a detailed photogrammetric model of the wreck, essential for planning the complex task of oil removal. Commodore Marko Laaksonen, Head of Operations at the Navy, highlighted the challenges of the operation: “Research dives to the sunken coastal defense ship are highly demanding, and the collected data will facilitate the future clean-up of the wreck. Thanks to the cooperation between the authorities, we are able to efficiently perform such diverse operations in the maritime environment.”
Despite the urgency, efforts to secure a contractor for the oil extraction, planned for 2024, have so far been unsuccessful. The Ministry of the Environment, in collaboration with other authorities, is now focusing on carrying out the oil removal as an in-house operation, with a target to complete the extraction by 2025. The project is financed by the Ahti water protection program, part of the Ministry’s broader initiative to safeguard Finland’s marine environments.
As the investigation proceeds, environmentalists and local communities remain vigilant, particularly given the proximity of the Archipelago National Park, a sensitive marine ecosystem at risk from any potential oil spill. With the threat to marine life and the coastal environment looming, the operation represents a critical step in protecting the Baltic Sea from a historical yet still very present danger.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
