Finnish Navy finds no evidence troops drilled holes in pirates’ boat

The Finnish Navy found no evidence that its personnel damaged a boat carrying suspected pirates off Somalia in 2011, after former soldiers made allegations, Yle reports.

The Navy investigated claims by Jan Knutti and Janne Lehtonen, former professional soldiers who served aboard the minelayer Pohjanmaa during the Atalanta anti-piracy operation. Knutti said in a podcast published in April, and Lehtonen wrote in a book published last year, that crew members drilled holes in a boat before releasing suspected pirates.

In April 2011, the Pohjanmaa’s crew detained 18 suspected pirates. The Navy said no country agreed to take them, so the operation’s headquarters ordered their release. They were put back in a boat about one and a half nautical miles from shore.

The Navy said the release point was one nautical mile from an inhabited village. The men were given life jackets, and the release was monitored until they were seen reaching shore safely and continuing on their way. A rescue swimmer remained on standby, and the boat was assessed as safe for the short journey.

The Navy said it could not completely rule out that someone had damaged the boat in a way that would not be visible in a surface inspection. But it said there was no evidence for the allegation beyond the accounts made public last spring. It said it had clear evidence that the men reached land safely and that their welfare had been considered. The Navy sees no need for further action.

The investigation, which also involved the Defence Command’s legal department, relied on material from 2011. Defence Command communications specialist Max Arhippainen said the inquiry into events from 15 years ago had been difficult. None of the people involved is still serving in the Finnish Defence Forces.

Lehtonen told Yle in May that he did not see holes being drilled, but heard that a small drill had been used to make holes so water could enter the space beneath an inner floor. He said the holes were not drilled through the bottom of the boat and that the crew stayed near the coast to ensure the men reached shore safely.

Knutti later described his claims about the holes as hearsay and joking, and said he did not actually know anything about the matter.