The Finnish Border Guard (FBG) operates two Dornier 228 aircraft. Both were fitted with the MSS 6000 system in 2009. In 2012 the systems were upgraded to further improve the capability for surveillance and protection of the Baltic sea. State-of-the-art search radar, EO/IR sensor and radio direction finder were integrated into both MSS 6000 systems.
At the same time the systems were reconfigured to allow operation from two identical operator consoles. Also added were an upgraded cockpit display for bringing up-to-date situation information to the pilots and an observer station that can be used for example by an observer from another organization or authority. Other new features include improved virus protection, updated recording capability to handle the HD video from the new EO/IR sensor, and geo-referencing and recording of the target tracks and SAR strip maps generated by the new search radar.
The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM) has the target to eradicate oil spills in the Baltic Sea by 2021. To achieve this goal the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) and the Finnish Border Guard are monitoring closely the number of oil pollution spills in the Baltic Sea. In a press release published on thier website 2/5/2013, Kati Tahvonen, Senior Officer at SYKE reports that “The number of spills detected by the authorities has dropped by 50 per cent in six years, and the size of the spills has also been reduced markedly”
These remarkably good figures are the result of effective surveillance in combination with a new legislation enabling faster imposition of administrative oil pollution fees on shipping companies or private individuals found guilty of oil spill offences.
MSS 6000 – a true multi-mission system.
Apart from being the most effective oil pollution monitoring system in the world the new MSS 6000 operated by the FBG is a true multi-mission system. It is capable of successfully performing a number of different tasks, such as Fishery Control, EEZ protection, Border Control, Ice Patrol, Ship Traffic Management during the same mission in addition to the environmental patrol.