Finnish minelayer Pohjanmaa Pohjanmaa is a minelayer of the Finnish Navy . The sole member of her class , she is the flagship of the Finnish Navy as well as the largest naval ship in service in Finland . The ship has an ice operating classification of ICE - 1A so she can operate all year round . During a crisis the main task for Pohjanmaa is mine laying and acting as a command ship . She also acts as a school ship for the Naval Academy cadets . Part of their training includes an annual cruise abroad . The 34 - year - old " Pohjanmaa " is scheduled for decommissioning in late 2013 . History . The " Pohjanmaa " was built in 1978 at the Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard , Finland . The " Pohjanmaa " first served as a school ship for the Naval Academy until 1992 when she was transferred to the Gulf of Finland Navy ( Now called Gulf of Finland Naval Command ) . When she was completed it replaced the minelayer " Ruotsinsalmi " and as a school ship the " Matti Kurki " . On 10 May 1982 , she was given the traditional shield of ocean faring vessels previously held by " Suomen Joutsen " , so in effect the " Pohjanmaa " continues the tradition of the three ships . The ship underwent a heavy modernization program in 1996 - 1998 , which included a replacing her 120 mm main gun with a more modern Bofors 57 mm fully automatic antiaircraft gun . The annual training cruise for the cadets has taken the ship as far as Belém , Brazil . The accommodation capacity of the vessel for the long range cruises can be increased with accommodation containers . On 28 June 2005 , as part of their cruise , the " Pohjanmaa " participated in the International Fleet Review which is a part of the " Trafalgar 200 " celebrations . In 2007 , the ship was refitted together with the " Hämeenmaa " class minelayers and her colour scheme changed from camouflage to light grey . Her second aft gun was also removed from the aft deck due to narrow shooting sectors , which were even further narrowed due to a new bigger hydraulic crane of a new seaboat . In 2010 , it was decided that the Pohjanmaa will participate in Operation Atalanta in 2011 . On 6 April 2011 , " Pohjanmaa " captured a vessel suspected as pirate mothership along with two speedboats . The search onboard revealed assault rifles , RPGs and other weapons . Eighteen of the suspected pirates were incarcerated onboard " Pohjanmaa " . Since the Prosecutor General of Finland decided not to prosecute , the pirates were transferred to the jurisdiction of Operation Atalanta , which later released the pirates . The pirate ship and the speedboats were scuttled at sea . Naming . The " Pohjanmaa " was christened on 8 June 1979 by Aili Haapkylä . The name comes from the old Swedish " pojama " galleys built in the 1770s — see " " Pohjanmaa " " for other uses of the name . The vessel has been nicknamed " Puuhamaa " by the Finnish Navy conscripts after the Finnish amusement park . Replacement . The " Pohjanmaa " is over 30 years old and , despite modernizations , will soon reach the end of her lifespan . She will be replaced by the next generation ' s surface combatant , bigger than the current missile boats and more capable for international co - operation , that is currently in pre - development stage . In addition to the " Pohjanmaa " , the new class of multi - purpose naval vessels — dubbed MTA2020 ( " Monitoimialus 2020 " ) in the preliminary papers — is intended to replace also " Hämeenmaa " - class minelayers and " Rauma " - class missile boats as they are retired . < ref name = " finlex12 / 2010 " > Hallituksen esitys 12 / 2010 . FINLEX . < / ref > " Pohjanmaa " will be decommissioned in late 2013 and either sold or scrapped if a sufficient buyer is not found . In September 2013 , it was reported that the Estonian Navy was interested in purchasing the vessel . However , it was later reported that Estonia decided not to purchase the vessel . In the Finnish Navy , minelayer " Hämeenmaa " will take up the position in the Gulf of Finland .