The City of Hamina awarded a grant to the John Nurminen Foundation for oil spill response in the Eastern Gulf of Finland

The Mayor of Hamina has made an official decision to grant 10,000 euros to the John Nurminen Foundation to promote oil spill response in the eastern Gulf of Finland. The funding will support practical measures, such as installing anchor bolts on coastal cliffs so that oil booms can be deployed as quickly as possible in the event of an accident. The aim of the project is to protect the area's sensitive archipelago and national park by preventing oil from spreading to the shores at sea. The city believes that preventive action is significantly more cost-effective than expensive post-emergency response work on the coast. 

The threat of oil spills and municipal preparedness

The threat of a ship oil spill in the Gulf of Finland has been long-standing, and the risk has been accentuated in the current global situation with tankers in poor condition sailing near Finnish territorial waters.

• If an accident were to occur and the oil rig were to drift ashore despite acute oil spill response, the municipalities would be responsible for the subsequent response.
• The city of Hamina has already started preparing together with other coastal municipalities in the Eastern Gulf of Finland.
• During the winter of 2025–2026, the Hamina emergency management team has been investigating methods of operation in case the obligation to prevent aftershocks becomes concrete.

Cost-effective protection through prevention

The city emphasizes that it is most important and cost-effective to collect as much of the oil as possible at sea. This will prevent the oil from spreading to sensitive sites in the archipelago and on the mainland.

Floating oil booms are used to limit the spread of oil spills in the water area, and they must be installed as quickly as possible in the event of an accident. This way, the spread of oil and the movement of the oil spill can be limited as effectively as possible. The John Nurminen Foundation has launched an initiative to install suitable fastening bolts for securing oil booms to coastal cliffs.