The risk of a major oil spill in the Gulf of Finland is currently very high. Significant volumes of oil are transported through the area, and traffic by Russia’s shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea has increased. The risk is further heightened by drone attacks targeting oil ports located in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Finland.
The John Nurminen Foundation has taken proactive measures to prepare for potential oil spill incidents. Through its Archipelago Oil Boom Project, the Foundation is establishing, in cooperation with Finnish authorities, a permanent oil containment boom anchoring system in the eastern Gulf of Finland. This system enables the rapid deployment of oil spill response booms in the event of an accident.
Thanks to the anchoring system, the booms can be installed immediately after a threat is detected, before oil has time to reach the shoreline, archipelago areas, or environmentally sensitive habitats. This can significantly reduce the extent of environmental damage.
In the first phase of the project, rock anchor rings will be installed along the Finnish coastline between Pyhtää and Virolahti. In addition to oil transport, the area is heavily used by other cargo traffic, making its protection particularly important.
Port of HaminaKotka Ltd has joined the project through a donation. These donations fund protective measures that complement the preparedness efforts of the authorities for oil spill incidents and strengthen the environmental safety of the Gulf of Finland coastline.
Read more: https://johnnurmisensaatio.fi/en/our-work/projects/archipelago-oil-boom-project/
The translation was produced by AI.
