The Finnish Coast Guard has reported ongoing disruptions to satellite navigation signals in the Baltic Sea since April, with authorities increasingly concerned over intentional location spoofing by tankers attempting to obscure visits to Russian ports.
Jamming GPS Networks
Finnish Interior Minister Lulu Ranne recently expressed suspicions that Russia is behind these signal interferences in both Finland and the wider Baltic region, targeting the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and GPS networks crucial for maritime navigation.
These disruptions have led to significant issues for vessels navigating the Gulf of Finland, forcing Finnish authorities to issue alerts to prevent ships from drifting dangerously close to shallow waters and islands.
The Coast Guard noted that GPS jamming has affected the Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) of vessels, crucial for tracking locations electronically, according to Digi24.
Commander Pekka Niittyla of the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard confirmed that, in recent weeks, AIS devices have been deliberately disabled, allowing ships to falsify their location on online tracking systems to mask visits to Russia.
Falsify Location Data
The Coast Guard has observed this location spoofing about ten times on tankers bound for Russian ports around St. Petersburg, a pattern suspected to be tied to evading international sanctions.
Following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Western nations imposed a price cap on Russian crude oil shipped by sea, aiming to curb Moscow’s oil revenue.
Niittyla explained, “If a buyer wants to hide that they’re purchasing Russian oil, either the seller or vessel may falsify location data to obscure the visit to Russia.”
The Finnish authorities are also closely monitoring Russia’s aging fleet, often called “Putin’s ghost fleet,” out of concern that these tankers may pose an environmental threat.
With winter approaching, the navigation risks increase as older tankers operating without accurate navigation signals could lead to devastating oil spills in the ecologically sensitive Baltic Sea.
