No, Russian Icebreakers are Not Assisting Finnish Vessels

It's ships coming to and from Russia, not Finland, that require extra assistance during this exceptional ice season.

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False Story Goes Viral

Photo: Väylävirasto via LinkedIn.

At the end of last week, I noticed a large number of posts on various social media sites stating that Russian icebreakers were assisting Finnish vessels. These stories all based their information on a press release which did not say what the posts said it said. Here is one such example:

This post, and others like it, then linked to the original press release (in Finnish) from Väylä, The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.

Although the press release uses phrases like “international cooperation with Russian icebreakers” and stated that “a Russian icebreaker may also assist a cargo ship in Finnish territorial sea,” nowhere does the release say anything about Russian icebreakers assisting Finnish vessels. Rather, as we shall see, this story is about vessels heading to/from Russia (including shadow fleet vessels) getting stuck in the ice and pushed into Finnish waters. Rather than waiting for them to reach extremis situations or run aground, Finland was allowing Russian icebreakers to assist stuck Russian ships on a case-by-case basis.

Perhaps those who posted did not know that the Gulf of Finland is the eastern Baltic Sea, and that vessels going to and from Russian ports must transit through it. Or perhaps they were just experiencing confirmation bias, reading into the press release something that was clearly not there.

To state it clearly:

No, Russian icebreakers were not, and are not, assisting Finnish vessels!

The Press Release is Related to a Single Event

This press release seems to come from a single event involving a Russian ship that became stuck in ice, was pushed by the wind into Finnish waters, and was later assisted by a Russian icebreaker. According to Finland’s national broadcaster YLE (original in Finnish):

According to the Marine Traffic website, which monitors shipping, for example, the Russian cargo ship Merle, which is on its way to St. Petersburg south of Porkkalanniemi, has been moving very slowly. It was visited by the Finnish patrol ship Turva, and the Russian icebreaker Kapitan Nikolaev has come to it.

According to the Finnish Coast Guard, this case involves assisting a ship in a difficult ice situation. There is a strong southerly and southwesterly wind at sea, which has packed the ice.

Väylä later clarified their press release in a statement posted to LinkedIn (auto-translated from Finnish using the LinkedIn feature): (bold is mine)

❄️During the long and calm period of frost, a large ice field has formed in the Gulf of Finland, which has started to move as the weather has become windier. The moving ice and prevailing winds push the vessels operating in the area towards the Finnish coast.

❄️Finnish icebreakers assist vessels operating to and from Finnish ports. Icebreaking services work well despite the challenging conditions. Ships on their way to and from Russian ports are assisted by Russian icebreakers.

❄️In accordance with international practice, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency can ask a Russian icebreaker to help a cargo ship in Russian traffic that has drifted into Finnish territorial waters. It is always a question of individual cases. The authorities are monitoring the situation closely.

Väylä also clarified the situation to reporters from the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti:

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and the Finnish Border Guard announced earlier on Thursday that Russian icebreakers may assist cargo ships in Finnish territorial waters. This is normal international practice in winter navigation.

“Finnish icebreakers take care of vessels operating to and from Finnish ports. A dozen or so Russian icebreakers will then take care of their traffic,” Mikkolainen says.

Russian Ships are Becoming Stuck in Finnish Waters

Sirri Rimppi provides an excellent overview of what is actually happening in an article for Iltalehti:

A Russian icebreaker helped a tanker break off the ice off the coast of Porkkala. As a rule, Finnish icebreakers do not assist vessels sailing to Russia.

“There are still a few ships stuck in the ice,” says Ilja Iljin, Deputy Commander of the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard District.

On Thursday, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and the Finnish Border Guard announced that several cargo ships had been stuck in ice in the Gulf of Finland. Some of the vessels in trouble are so-called shadow fleets, which transport oil from Russia to abroad

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency has granted Russian icebreakers permits to enter Finnish territorial waters as of Thursday. A few requests have been made,” confirms Elisa Mikkolainen, Director of Water Traffic at the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.

The authorisation is always granted on an individual basis and only applies to the assistance of a specific vessel. On Thursday, a Russian icebreaker was given permission to assist a vessel on its way to Russia out of the ice off the ice off the coast of Porkkala. Other permits have been issued in advance, in case the vessels are prevented from moving independently.

In order to get stuck vessels out of the ice, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and, in some cases, the Finnish Border Guard can grant a Russian icebreaker permission to enter Finnish territorial waters. Without an invitation, Russian vessels are not allowed to enter Finnish territory. The Border Guard may issue a summons when there is reason to fear that the situation will cause environmental damage or when it is a maritime search and rescue task.

Getting a cargo ship stuck in ice can contribute to increasing the risk of environmental damage.

“The ice is moving and there is a risk that the ship will drift into shallows, which increases the risk,” says Iljin of the Coast Guard.

If the tanker runs aground, there is a risk that the fuel or cargo tank will rupture. It can cause extensive oil spills.

Iljin points out that the Finnish Border Guard is constantly monitoring traffic in the Gulf of Finland. If such a drifting risk is detected, ice-breaking equipment is sent to assist the vessel.

“I would like to emphasise that these will be closely monitored. There are plenty of icebreaking vessels available in Finland. Of course, otherwise we have no interest in assisting ships sailing to Russia.

There you have it.

Thoughts and Comments

A single event in which a Russian icebreaker was allowed to assist a Russian cargo ship led to a somewhat vague press release (especially when translated). That press release was then misinterpreted, and then individuals posted stories based on their own thoughts—without checking the facts—online. And then the story was picked up by others and went viral.

The actual story here is essentially the opposite of the fake viral story. It is not the Finns who need assistance, but the Russians- whose merchant vessels lack sufficient escort to keep them from getting stuck and then pushed into Finnish territorial waters. And of course, the Russian icebreakers need permission to do so. Estonia just summoned Russia's chargé d'affaires after a Russian icebreaker entered its territorial waters without notice.

I’ll have an update on Baltic Sea icebreaking and other topics coming soon. Be sure to like, subscribe, and share!

All the Best,

PGR