Vaindloo

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For the ship, see EML Vaindlo (M416).
Vaindloo
Stenskär (Swedish)
View of Vaindloo from the sea
View of Vaindloo from the sea
Vaindloo is located in Scandinavia
Vaindloo
Vaindloo
Location in the Baltic Sea region
Vaindloo is located in Estonia
Vaindloo
Vaindloo
Location in Estonia
Vaindloo is located in Europe
Vaindloo
Vaindloo
Location in Europe
Coordinates: 59°49′04″N 26°21′36″E / 59.8177°N 26.36005°E / 59.8177; 26.36005
CountryEstonia
CountyLääne-Viru County
VillageVainupea
Area
 • Total
0.062 km2 (0.024 sq mi)
Population
 • Total
no permanent population

Vaindloo (alternatively Vaindloo saar; Swedish: Stenskär) is an Estonian uninhabited island in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea.

Description

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Vaindloo belongs to Estonia; it is the northernmost land point of the country. It has an area of 6.2 hectares (15 acres) and marks the northernmost point of the nation of Estonia, situated 26 kilometers (14 nmi) north of the Estonian mainland and 18 kilometers (10 nmi) north of the Uhtju islands. It is 24 kilometers (13 nmi) south-west of the Russian island of Rodsher and about 54 kilometers (29 nmi) from the mainland of Finland.[1]

The island has no permanent inhabitants; from 1994 to 2014 two Estonian Border Guards were stationed on the island, but in 2014 it was decided automation made this unnecessary.[2]

The island is administratively part of the village of Vainupea in Haljala Parish, Lääne-Viru County. The island is depicted on the Estonian two-euro coin. The Euro Coin Collector website notes:

"On the 2 Euro coin two small islands, Vaindloo and Nootamaa, are depicted. These, the most Northerly point and most Westerly point of Estonia, are not depicted on the other coins."[3]

Infrastructure

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Buildings on Vaindloo in 2023 from the lighthouse

Vaindloo is notable for its lighthouse. It was built in 1871 and is managed by the Estonian Maritime Administration. It replaced a previous timber lighthouse erected in 1718.[4] In addition to the lighthouse, there is an Estonian Border Guard station with a 50-meter-high (160 ft) observation tower and a radar installation. Access is by helicopter.[5]

Environment

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Vaindloo is an important breeding sanctuary for such birds as the common tern, Arctic tern, Tengmalm's owl, great tit, purple sandpiper, shore lark, great grey shrike, yellowhammer and others.[6]

Recent history

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When part of the Soviet Union, a straight baseline segment from Vaindloo to Rodsher, now Russian, formed part of a series of baselines used to calculate the extent of Soviet Union territorial waters. The now incomplete system of straight baselines creates some uncertainty to the maritime boundary in the area of the island and the position of the potential Estonia-Finland-Russia equidistance maritime tripoint. As of May 2021, a 2014 draft treaty on the border had not been ratified by either party.[7][8]

On 20 September 2025, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets flew into Estonian airspace, with initial reports stating they flew around Vaindloo island for around 12 minutes, and that they were forced to turn back after Italian F-35's stationed at Ämari Air Base under NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission intercepted them.[9] However subsequently the Estonian Defence Forces published a chart of the flight showing the jets entering Estonian airspace west of the island near Loksa and flew further west in a straight line down the Gulf of Finland parallel to the Estonia border en-route to Kaliningrad. Estonian MP and former chief of intelligence Eerik-Niiles Kross noted that aircraft control zones do not align with the state boundary near Vaindloo.[10][11] The event caused Estonia to activate Article 4 of the NATO treaty. Russia has denied any wrong-doing and has said that the fighter jets were flying in neutral airspace.[12]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Eesti Post. Stamps". Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  2. ^ "Hundreds Estonian want to become guards of uninhabited Vaindloo island". The Baltic Course. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ [2] Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society
  5. ^ Filippov, Madis (25 March 2013). "Vaindloo – Estonia's northernmost home". Postimees. Tallinn. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  6. ^ BirdLife IBA Factsheet
  7. ^ Lott, Alexander (2022). "Discriminatory Prohibition of the Right of Innocent Passage of a Commercial Ship" (PDF). Hybrid Threats and the Law of the Sea. Brill. pp. 191–197. ISBN 978-90-04-50935-1. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  8. ^ "Maritime boundaries between Russia and Estonia". International institute for Law of the Sea Studies. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  9. ^ Sytas, Andrius; Slattery, Gram (20 September 2025). "Russian jets enter Estonia's airspace in latest test for NATO". Reuters. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  10. ^ "Chart shows Russian jets' 12-minute violation of Estonian airspace". Estonian World. 20 September 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  11. ^ Kross, Eerik-Niiles (21 September 2025). "Why NATO held fire on Russian jets – and why Estonia may need its own". Estonian World. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Russian jets fly into Estonian airspace; Prime Minister invokes NATO Article 4 consultations". The Hill. September 19, 2025.
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