Polish team wins HELCOM Trophy

Tallinn, 7 September (HELCOM) – The Polish team from the oil-pollution-combating vessel Kapitan Poinc won the 12th annual HELCOM Trophy international rowing boat competition held on 7 September in Tallinn, Estonia, following the Helsinki Commission’s pollution response exercise BALEX DELTA 2007.

Seven teams representing oil spill response vessels from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland and Sweden, as well as the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), took part in this year’s HELCOM boat race, which took place at the Estonian Border Guard Sea Base.

This year, instead of just being the first to cross the finish line, the teams had to post best time to win the competition. Each team consisted of six rowers and a helmsman. In the qualifying race the best results were shown by the teams from Poland (6min40s), Finland (6min52s) and EMSA (6min59). The final race was won by the Finnish team (6min19s), followed by the Polish (6min28s) and EMSA’s (6min57s) crews. But based on the fasted combined time (qualifying and final race) the Polish team was declared the winner. The Finnish crew from the response vessel Hylje, which won the HELCOM Trophy in 2006, posted second best time, and EMSA’s team took the third place.

Twelve HELCOM rowing competitions including this years have been held since 1990. The race has been won six times by the Swedish team and twice by the Finnish, Lithuanian and Polish teams. 

The next annual HELCOM Trophy rowing competition will be held in Lithuania – the host of the HELCOM BALEX DELTA 2008 oil pollution response exercise.

Winners of the HELCOM Trophy rowing competition:

2007 (Tallinn) - Poland

2006 (Gdynia) - Finland

2005 (Karlskrona) – Sweden

2004 (Warnemünde) – Sweden

2003 (Helsinki) - Sweden

2002 (Liepaja) – Lithuania

2001 (Rönne) – Lithuania

2000 (St. Petersburg) – Sweden

1998 (Gdynia) – Finland

1996 (Karlskrona) – Poland

1991 (Rönne) – Sweden

1990 (Gdynia) – Sweden

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 635

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi