Oil removal from Finnish war wreck Ilmarinen paused for season

Finnish authorities have completed the first phase of an operation to extract residual oil from the sunken World War II warship Ilmarinen. Since mid-July, salvage crews have successfully recovered approximately 60,000 liters of fuel from the wreck, located in the northern Baltic Sea.

An estimated 40,000 liters of oil remain inside the vessel's tanks, presenting an ongoing ecological threat to the marine environment. Operations are scheduled to resume next year to extract the remaining fuel.

The coastal defence ship Ilmarinen sank in September 1941 after striking a sea mine, resulting in the deaths of 271 crew members, while 132 survived. The location of the sunken warship remained unknown for nearly five decades before its discovery. Authorities emphasize that removing the aged fuel is critical to preventing potential environmental contamination in Baltic waters.

Sources: Sweden Herald.