The ''Pansio''-class minelayers are a three-strong class of

mine warfare vessel A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

s used by the

Finnish Navy The Finnish Navy ( , ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS", short for "Finnish Navy ship", but ...

, built between 1991 and 1992. The vessels can also be used for transport or to supply the naval forts. The vessels can carry a 100-ton load. The ships are referred to as "mine ferries" in the Finnish Navy.

Mid-life upgrade

The three vessels went through a mid-life upgrade between 2015 and 2017 and are now expected to serve until the 2030s. The upgrades included new main and auxiliary engines, as well as a new high-pressure fire extinguishing system. The vessels were also equipped with a

Saab Trackfire The Saab Trackfire is a remote weapon station, i.e. a remotely operated weapon system that can be fitted with either medium or light caliber weapons. It can be mounted on vehicles, ships and stationary platforms. It is manufactured by Saab Group. ...

remote weapon station A remote controlled weapon station (RCWS), remotely operated weapon system (ROWS), or remote weapon system (RWS), is a remotely operated light or medium-caliber weapon system, often equipped with a fire-control system, that can be installed on Co ...

with a 7.62 mm

PKM machine gun The PK (, transliterated as ''Pulemyot Kalashnikova'', or "Kalashnikov's machine gun"), is a belt-fed general-purpose machine gun, chambered for the 7.62×54mmR rimmed cartridge. The modernized and most commonly known variant, known as the PKM, ...

and a 40 mm

Heckler & Koch GMG The GMG (''Granatmaschinengewehr'' or "grenade machine gun") is an automatic grenade launcher developed by Heckler & Koch for the German Army. It is also often referred to as GMW or GraMaWa (''Granatmaschinenwaffe''). Design details The GMG fire ...

. The two Sako twin-barreled 23 mm/87 (modified

ZU-23-2 The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet towed 23×152mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for ''Zenitnaya Ustanovka'' (Russian: Зенитная Установка) – anti-aircraft mount. The GRAU index is 2A13. Develo ...

) were removed.

Service

On 24 August 2022 ''Pyhäranta'' ran aground in the

Archipelago Sea The Archipelago Sea (, ) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the List of archipelagos by number of islands, larges ...

, off

Turku, Finland Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

. Her hull was holed.

List of ships

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pansio Mine warfare vessel classes Minelayers of the Finnish Navy Minelayers of Finland Ships built in Finland