Russian shadow fleet disrupts Baltic navigation systems
The Finnish Coast Guard has observed that many ships passing through the Baltic Sea are taking incorrect courses. This may be due to the disruption of satellite navigation by tankers from the so-called Russian shadow fleet.
The Finnish Coast Guard reported on Thursday about a new phenomenon observed in the Baltic Sea. It concerns the falsification of location data. According to Reuters, there are increasing reports of disruptions in GPS and GNSS positioning systems. There have been instances where the Finnish Coast Guard warns vessels against navigating near islands or shallow waters.
Disruptions in the Baltic. Leads point to Russia
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and her colleague, Minister of the Interior Lulu Ranne, believe that Russia is responsible for this activity. This is also confirmed by Pekka Niittyla from the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard, who noted that tankers heading to Russian ports near St. Petersburg are falsifying their position data. He stated that this is a completely new phenomenon, aimed at avoiding sanctions and related consequences.
The mentioned Russian ships are referred to as the shadow fleet. They transport crude oil, which is under sanctions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In many cases, these are old tankers that deliver oil to buyers willing to pay more than the set maximum price of $60 (CAD 83) per barrel.
If the receiving country wants to hide that the raw material comes from Russia, the Automatic Identification System (AIS) devices in maritime transport are deliberately turned off, allowing location data to be falsified - claims Pekka Niittyla.
Increasing incidents in the Baltic
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency has previously reported that the number of GPS reception disturbances this year is several times higher than in previous years (in the first half of the year, Finnish air traffic operators reported over a thousand such incidents, with even more reported by foreign operators). Additionally, evidence suggesting Russia's deliberate actions is found in the fact that they possess systems and bases for conducting electronic warfare located in the Gulf of Finland and the southern part of the Baltic. The Russians also use their own satellite navigation system, Glonass.
