A special Nato anti-mine unit will begin searching for and detonating old sea mines off Finland's south coast on Monday.
The Standing Nato Mine Countermeasures Group will focus on areas off the Hanko and Porkkala peninsulas, west of Helsinki, from 3 to 14 November.
The Mine Countermeasures Group is one of Nato's four standing maritime task groups under the operational control of the Allied Maritime Command, headquartered in southeast England. It has been active in Nato's Operation Baltic Sentry, aimed at protecting underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea after last year's damage to submarine cables between Finland and Estonia.
Mine countermeasures vessels are capable of clearing mines, conducting underwater surveys and inspecting and monitoring critical infrastructure on the seabed, the Finnish Navy said on Thursday. One of its three Italian-built Katanpää-class mine countermeasures vessels will operate alongside the Group.
"No risk to sea traffic"
There are still many mines from the First and Second World Wars on the bottom of the Baltic Sea near Finland, but "they do not as such pose a risk to sea traffic", the Navy said.
Dealing with real historical ordnance in the Baltic Sea provides excellent training opportunities for vessels in the Mine Countermeasures Group vessels, said Marko Laaksonen, Deputy Chief of Staff of Navy Operations, in a press release.
"At the same time, these joint efforts with Nato helps us control and know sea routes and critical infrastructure better," he added.
Before launching the operation on Monday, the Countermeasures Group will visit the port of Turku this weekend. The Group's flagship is the Latvian Navy minelayer Virsaitis.
Hanko and Porkkala are mainland Finland's southernmost points, so have historically been of great strategic importance and areas of maritime warfare.
