Finnish mine layer in harbour

The Finnish Navy ship Pohjanmaa sailed into Grand Harbour yesterday for a four-day stay.

The vessel, which was last here 20 years ago, will be open to the public tomorrow between 10 a.m. and noon.

The ship is at Pinto Wharf close to Customs House and visitors are advised to take their ID cards with them.

Her agents, Cassar and Cooper, said the Pohjanmaa has ice-breaking capability and is therefore more at home in the frozen waters of the North rather than in the warm Mediterranean. That is why visits to the Mediterranean are so rare, the spokesman said.

FNS Pohjanmaa was commissioned on June 8, 1979, and was the training ship of the naval academy in Helsinki until the end of 1992.

In 1993, she was transferred to the Gulf of Finland Naval Command in Upinniemi, 40 km west of Helsinki.

Upinniemi is still the vessel's home base today. The Pohjanmaa underwent a major overhaul between 1997 and 1998 and was recomissioned on February 12, 1998.

The Pohjanmaa's main task is mine laying and she is equipped with one 57 mm, two 40 mm, two twin-barrelled anti-aircraft guns and two 12.7 mm machine guns.

Depth charges and decoys are part of her armament. Apart from mine laying operations, she still acts as a training ship for conscripts, candidate officers and petty officers.

Currently on board are 123 personnel including nine officers, 18 non-commissioned officers, seven enlisted, 38 cadets and petty officer students and 41 conscripts.

The Pohjanmaa, length: 78.3 m; breadth 11.6 m; depth: 3.5 m; displacement: 1,400 tonnes, has been on annual training cruises with some lasting over two months and including ports in Brazil and Jamaica.

The vessel's commanding officer is Ari Kallio and the captain is Kai Varsio.