Finnish naval vessel to waters off Somalia?
Vanhanen takes “positive view”, although no decisions made yet
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Finland is considering sending a naval vessel to the coastal waters off Somalia, as part of a mission aimed primarily at securing the safety of food aid deliveries against attacks by pirates.
Finnish participation in international crisis management operations was discussed at a meeting of the government’s foreign and security policy ministerial committee on Friday.
In practice, the only appropriate Finnish vessel for the task would be the mine layer Pohjanmaa.
This would be the first time that Finland has taken part in an international crisis management operation at sea. The most likely option would be to send the ship to the area for a few months.
The project has the support of Finland's political leadership. “I take a positive view of this, even though no official decision has been made”, said Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) to Helsingin Sanomat.
The deployment of the ship would be part of the Atalanta operation launched in December by the European Union, with the purpose of repulsing the threat posed by pirates operating from the Somalian coast, and to protect ships bringing food aid into the country. Sweden and Norway have already decided to take part in the operation.
There are fears that the Somali pirates will take tougher measures after special forces of the US Navy recently shot three pirates who were holding an American ship’s captain hostage in a lifeboat.
“Escorting the food deliveries would be the main priority, but as circumstances allow, it would be possible to protect commercial shipping as well”, says Timo Kantola, head of the Security Policy Unit of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
The very presence of a military vessel escorting a freight vessel significantly reduces the threat of an act of piracy, although it does not eliminate it completely. “There are always risks in crisis management - here as well”, Kantola notes.
The EU member states have granted ships for use in the Atalanta operation for fixed periods of time, so that between five and eight vessels will be patrolling in the area at any given time.
In addition to the Atalanta operation, there will be ships of the United States, Chines, and Russian navies in the area.
The area is to be limited to the open sea, and the crew are not to step on Somali soil.
There are currently two Finnish military experts in the Somali operation. Sending a ship would increase the Finnish involvement to that of an entire crew. Taking part in the operation would be paid personnel, professional officers, and reservists. No conscripts are to be involved.
In addition to the 1,450-tonne Pohjanmaa, the flagship of the Finnish Navy, Finland has two other smaller mine vessels, the Hämeenmaa and the Uusimaa, weighing 1,300 tonnes each. In addition to sea mines, the vessels have artillery and missiles for anti-aircraft operations.
The 78-metre-long Pohjanmaa was originally designed for northern conditions.
In order to operate in southern seas, changes will have to be made to its heating and air conditioning systems. In addition to heat and humidity, dust from the nearby desert could prove to be a challenge.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 27.4.2009 - TODAY |
 Finnish naval vessel to waters off Somalia? |
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