The Finnish Coast Guard reported that ships in the Baltic Sea are increasingly taking wrong courses. The reason is the disruption of satellite navigation caused by tankers – the so-called Russian shadow fleet. The Guard also drew attention to another phenomenon – falsification of location data.
Coast Guard on Thursday Finland reported disruptions in location information and satellite navigation. Reports of irregularities in GPS and GNSS positioning are systematically increasing. In the most extreme cases, the guard had to warn units before entering islands or shallow water. The reason, according to the Finnish authority, may be interference Russia in the satellite navigation signal. According to the guard, the reason could be, among others: the desire to protect Russian infrastructure against Ukrainian drone strikes.
Finnish authorities: Russia is behind the disruptions
Finnish authorities, including Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and Interior Minister Lulu Ranne, believe that Russia is behind the satellite navigation disruptions. The difficulties concern not only the Baltic Sea, but also the airspace in the Finnish region.
Pekka Niittyla from the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard pointed out that tankers entering Russian ports near St. Petersburg falsify their position data. He said it was a new phenomenon. “It may be related to an attempt to avoid sanctions or the consequences related to them,” Niittyla said.
These Russian tankers are called the shadow fleet. They are mainly older and not covered by insurance. The fleet transports Russian oil that is subject to Western sanctions. They supply it to those who are willing to pay more than the agreed maximum price of $60 per barrel.
– If the recipient country wants to hide that the raw material comes from Russia, Automatic Communication System (AIS) devices in maritime transport are deliberately turned off, thanks to which location data can be falsified – explained Niittyla. About ten such cases have been detected recently.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency reported earlier that this year the number of disruptions to GPS reception is many times higher than in previous years.
In the first half of this year alone, Finnish aircraft operators reported over a thousand such incidents. Other Baltic countries reported even more. It was also noted that Russia has systems and bases for conducting electronic warfare. These systems are located in the Gulf of Finland and in the southern part of the Baltic Sea. The Russians also use their own Glonass satellite navigation system.
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