Recent incidents of GPS signal interference have not affected ships and vessels off of the coast of Estonia, Kristjan Truu, director of the Transport Administration’s Maritime Service, said on Tuesday.
“There have been no reports to the Transport Administration about disturbances of satellite navigation systems in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland,” Truu told ERR.
The Gulf of Finland is constantly monitored and no anomalies have been detected so far, he said.
Monitoring is carried out continuously so dangerous situations do not arise.
Warships have jammed GPS in the past
Deputy Secretary General for Maritime and Water Affairs at the Ministry of Climate Kaupo Läänerand said GPS disturbances have been recorded in the past in Estonian waters.
“Warships have been jamming civilian GPS signals in the course of their operations, but duplicated equipment and good training can reduce the effects of jamming,” he said.
Läänerand said if satellite navigation systems are disrupted in coastal waters, there is a risk that the ship’s position and its image on the map do not match.
GPS signal interference has been reported in the region for several months and has been blamed on Russia trying to protect its critical infrastructure from attack. Finnish airline Finnair pulled its Helsinki-Tartu flights on Monday after several planes were unable to land. The company and Tartu Airport are seeking a solution to restart the connection.
