ABSTRACT
The Gulf of Finland is a sensitive geographical area. The Baltic Sea, including the Gulf of Finland, has been categorized as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO, 2005). Maritime traffic is continuously increasing in the Gulf of Finland. Especially the increasing number of oil tankers is raising concern in the coastal countries. Russia is building new oil terminals, and the annual oil transports via the Gulf of Finland are estimated to increase even up to 250 millions of tons by 2015 (Finnish Environment Institute 2007). The increasing maritime traffic increases the risks of accidents, which could lead to oil spills. An oil disaster would most probably have serious effects on the Gulf of Finland ecosystem (Ihaksi et al. 2007).
