Official Duties Related to PPW's (Potentially Polluting Wrecks)

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The Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) launched a wreck remediation project in 2019 on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment. The project is part of the Ministry’s Ahti Programme (2023–2027) and the preceding Enhanced Water Protection Programme (2019–2023). It also contributes to the objectives of the Baltic Sea Protection Programme.

Preparing of remediation and improving monitoring of potentially polluting wrecks (PPW’s)

One objective of the project is to prepare a challenging remediation of a deep-water wreck. The implementation would take place in the next phase in accordance with a separate funding decision. The project seeks cost-effective ways to monitor PPW’s and prevent oil or other hazardous substances contained in wrecks from entering the marine environment. As part of monitoring efforts, a new wreck registry has been established and published in the Finnish Border Guard's MERT (Marine Environment Response Tool) situation awareness system in 2024. Additionally, oil removal capabilities and readiness of authorities and cooperating companies is being investigated in the project.

Oil removal operations of PPW’s have been conducted

In the project, wreck sites within Finnish territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) have previously been identified that may pose an environmental pollution risk in the near future if oil leaks through corroding tanks into the sea or seabed. The project has identified wreck sites suitable for oil removal operations and searched archival data to determine the presence of hazardous substances in wrecks. The condition of the wrecks is monitored, and targets for oil removal are selected based on risk assessments derived from studies and monitoring data. Additional information is also collected about the location and condition of the wreck sites as well as the likelihood of an oil spill. Based on this information, oil has been removed from several wrecks, and similar operations will continue to be carried out in the future.

Other key development objectives include:

• Ensuring that the responsible authorities and companies involved in cooperation have the necessary expertise and readiness to eliminate environmental risks posed by wrecks and to utilize equipment designed for oil removal.
• Improve capabilities and readiness where deficiencies are found.
• Developing and selecting the most suitable methods for each wreck site to determine whether the wreck contains oil or hazardous chemicals.
• Preparing condition and risk assessments of wrecks.
• Estimating the remediation costs of the sites.

The project steering group includes representatives from the Ministry of the Environment and the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), as well as the Finnish Navy, the Border Guard, the Finnish Heritage Agency, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The project has also involved close cooperation with authorities from other Baltic Sea countries regarding wreck-related issues. In addition, observations and proposed operating models have been reported to HELCOM.

Videos

Monitoring wrecks in Water Protection Enhancement Programme

Wreck operation in the Archipelago Sea 2020

Documents

External Links

Contact Information

• Project Manager Tommi Kontto, e-mail: firstname.lastname@syke.fi
• Coordinator Suvi Tuuliainen e-mail: firstname.lastname@syke.fi
• Project e-mail: syke.hylyt@syke.fi