Archipelago oil boom project
The risk of an oil spill in the Gulf of Finland is exceptionally high. In the archipelago oil boom project, the John Nurminen Foundation and Finnish authorities are building a permanent attachment system for oil containment booms in the eastern Gulf of Finland. Rock eye bolts installed in the islands’ rocks allow oil containment booms to be quickly attached in the event of an oil spill.
Lisätietoja:
The risk of a major oil spill in the Gulf of Finland is currently higher than it has been in years.
The quantities of oil transported in the Gulf of Finland are significant by international standards, and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has increased shadow fleet traffic in the Gulf of Finland. Oil ports at the innermost part of the eastern Gulf of Finland have also been subject to drone attacks.
Finland’s coastal areas, fish spawning grounds, bird nesting areas, and the early developmental stages of organisms are all vulnerable with regard to oil. For example, aquatic birds suffer from both mechanical injury and the direct toxic effects of oil. Oil is particularly harmful to endangered coastal species and habitats. Removing oil from seaside meadows, for example, is a slow and difficult process. Prevention is therefore the best way to protect the most vulnerable coastal nature sites.
The oil containment boom attachment system protects irreplaceable nature
The archipelago oil boom project is building a permanent attachment system for oil containment booms in the eastern Gulf of Finland.
The attachment system will allow oil containment booms to be installed as soon as a threat is detected – before the oil reaches the coast, archipelago, or vulnerable nature sites. The method is simple and cost-effective, and can be used to protect important areas in the Gulf of Finland. The first phase of the project will see rock eye bolts installed along the Finnish coast from Pyhtää to Virolahti.
The attachment system is being built in an area selected due to the high volume of oil transport and heavy freight traffic in the region. It also contains particularly vulnerable nature sites identified by Metsähallitus. Nature sites of priority include seaside meadows, sandy beaches, bird colonies, and nature conservation areas. The bolts will be installed in August 2026 once the nesting season ends.
Prevention is the best way to prevent oil spills
According to estimates, post-spill responses and clean-up operations are at least ten times more costly than preparedness measures that allow oil spill response efforts to be initiated early, thereby preventing oil from spreading to shorelines with summer cabins and affecting nature in the archipelago.
At the same time, it is possible to avoid long-term negative impacts on nature, livelihoods, and human health. Modelling by Tallinn University shows that a major oil spill involving 30,000 tonnes of oil in the Gulf of Finland could spread oil along 185 kilometres of Finnish coastline, from Ingå eastwards beyond Hamina.
The eye bolts significantly speed up practical oil spill response work in coastal and archipelago areas. After installing the bolts in the eastern Gulf of Finland, the aim is to continue installation work in the Eastern Uusimaa and Western Uusimaa archipelagos in a separate follow-up project.
The project is funded by the “Bolt down for the Baltic Sea!”- campaign, which accepts donations from companies and private individuals
In cooperation:
Bolt down for the Baltic sea!
Russia’s shadow fleet is now operating in record numbers in the Gulf of Finland. The risk of a serious oil accident has risen to an exceptionally high level.
Help us protect the shores of the Baltic Sea by installing bolts required for securing rocky shoreline anchors for oil booms.
