Boats on Narva River relying on GPS navigation after buoy thefts

The Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) urges boaters on the Narva River to stay as close to the Estonian river bank as possible after Russia refused to return navigation buoys that demarcate the control line. GPS is the sole tool for finding the border and jamming makes it less reliable.
Estonia has used buoys to mark the border in summer for years, but Russian border guards stole more than 20 from the river last year, disputing their placement. Since then, the number of border violations has increased.
The PPA told "Aktuaalne kaamera" that there have been fewer problems this year, but this is due to bad weather and fewer boats on the water.
The agency hopes that with the arrival of sunny weather next week, people will avoid trouble.
"A border water body differs from an internal water body in that you must first register your departure and later also close the registration. This can be done at piiriveekogu.ee or via SMS," said Airi Avameri, from the PPA's Narva border station.
"You must definitely have a GPS device with you, on which a temporary control line can be downloaded from the same website to minimize potential risks. If possible, stay closer to the Estonian bank. We have to keep in mind that our neighboring country is an aggressor state and their behavior is unpredictable," she added.
There are whirlpools, strong currents, and wind on the river.
"When going fishing on the Narva River, anglers sometimes do not consider that when they throw the anchor in, the wind may carry the boat farther before the anchor hits the bottom. So on the river, you also need to factor in the direction of the wind," said Anton Lebedev, sailing coach at the Narva-Jõesuu yacht club.
Over the last two years, jamming from Russia on the border and across the region has also made GPS systems less reliable. Earlier this month, Estonia and Finland warned vessels about "significantly increased" navigation system interference in the Gulf of Finland.
The border area on the Narva River is more than 70 kilometers long.
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Editor: Johanna Alvin, Helen Wright
Source: Aktuaalne kaamera