Unidentified metal object found in Helsinki shipping lane prompts major operation

Finnish authorities launched an operation in the Gulf of Finland off Helsinki after a funnel-shaped unidentified metal object was discovered in a shipping lane used by passenger vessels.

The Finnish Border Guard found the object at around 7:20 p.m. and requested assistance from the Navy to identify it.

Authorities temporarily closed part of the sea route during the operation, delaying a Viking Line ferry bound for Tallinn by nearly two hours.

Police have not yet identified the object or said whether it poses a danger. The operation and investigation remain ongoing.