Finland: Two Maritime Pilots Die after Their Vessel Capsizes

Two pilot cutter operators, employees of Finnish Finnpilot Pilotage, died on December 10 after their vessel L 242 overturned outside of Emäsalo island, in Southern Finland.

Despite the Border Guard’s efforts to right the overturned vessel, it sank during the operation.

The pilot cutter operators had been on their way to retrieve a pilot from a pilotage assignment. The cause of the vessel capsizing is unknown.

Divers were able to recover the bodies of the ill-fated pilots from the sunken vessel, the company said.

“This is a truly devastating day for Finnpilot. We are working with the authorities to determine the causes of this tragic accident in order to ensure the safety of our employees in the future. Procedures to that end are already underway,” Kari Kosonen, CEO at Finnpilot said.

The fast pilot vessel L242 was a Kewatec Pilot 1500 that had been in the service of Finnpilot since autumn 2015. According to Finnpilot, the vessel was inspected by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.

Finnpilot and the Safety Investigation Authority (OTKES) joined forces in salvaging the sunken pilot vessel.

OTKES has launched an investigation into the cause of the sinking.