Indian Warship Enters Finland’s Territorial Waters

A frigate of the Indian Navy, constructed in Kaliningrad, entered Finland’s territorial waters while en route to its main base of operations.

According to Ilta-Sanomat, the vessel’s entry was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Finnish Navy.

The ship crossed into Finnish waters on the morning of July 18, having informed Finnish authorities of its planned transit toward the Gulf of Bothnia.

The spokesperson added that while the Finnish military had been notified of the ship’s route, they did not have detailed information about its final destination or the specific reasons for its passage through Finnish waters.

During its passage, the vessel was not visible on the MarineTraffic map, indicating that its AIS transponder was turned off.

“Warships often travel, so to speak, in the dark without AIS transmitters,” the Navy’s press service explained.

It is most likely that the vessel passing through Finnish waters was the new Indian frigate of Project 11356 – INS Tamal, which was built at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad and handed over to the Indian Navy in early July.

The warship had successfully completed acceptance trials involving an Indian inspection team and was preparing for its transfer to its permanent home port.

It is worth noting that the main power plant installed on the Indian frigate by Russian shipbuilders consists of Ukrainian M7N gas turbine engines, produced by the Mykolaiv-based state enterprise Zorya-Mashproekt. These engines were supplied to the Indian side by Ukroboronprom.

Originally, the frigate was laid down for the Russian Navy under the name Admiral Istomin on November 15, 2013. However, after 2014, the supply of Ukrainian engines was halted. As a result, in July 2017, during the International Maritime Defense Show in St. Petersburg, the Russian Navy command announced its intention to complete Admiral Istomin for the Black Sea Fleet using an alternative engine configuration.

However, in 2018, Russia and India signed an intergovernmental agreement for the completion of two unfinished frigates of this class – Admiral Butakov and Admiral Istomin – with the intent to transfer them to the Indian Navy. In 2019, construction was officially relaunched, now in the interest of the Indian Navy.

The ship was initially launched in November 2017 to clear the slipway, and it was relaunched in 2024 as part of its final outfitting for India.