Banned Finnish steamship used for diplomatic event, Traficom investigates

A steamship carrying unauthorized diplomatic guests was found in Savonlinna, Finland, in early July. The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom, had imposed a ban on Savonlinna’s steamships, Punkaharju and Saaristo, on Friday, July 5. According to Traficom, a fault was discovered on the ships, which led to the ban. The agency did not provide further details on the nature of the fault.

The steamships were operated by Vip Cruise, a Savonlinna-based company. CEO Janne Leinonen previously stated that the fault was found in the steamship’s pressure vessel during an inspection. He did not provide any further comments on the matter.

On Saturday, July 6, the CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation and the Savonlinna Opera Festival organized an event attended by ambassadors from 14 countries as well as representatives from the CMI and Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The program for the diplomatic visit included discussions and a steamship cruise in Savonlinna. The Savonlinna Opera Festival confirmed that guests were transported on the Saaristo steamship.

Mika Nevalainen, the commercial director of the Opera Festival, stated that the organizers were only made aware of the ban after the fact. “We had reason to believe that the ship was in order. It’s a very unfortunate case,” Nevalainen said.

Traficom is investigating the matter in collaboration with other authorities, including the police. Vip Cruise’s CEO, Janne Leinonen, declined to comment, citing confidentiality agreements.

The bans on the steamships have now been lifted. Traficom announced that the Punkaharju ban ended late Friday evening and the Saaristo ban ended Monday morning. Both ships were out of operation for at least a week.