The sole member of her class, she was the flagship of the Finnish Navy as well as the largest naval ship in service in Finland until 2013.

In 2007, the ship was refitted together with the Hämeenmaa-class minelayers and her colour scheme changed from camouflage to light grey.

Despite modernizations, the over 30-year-old Pohjanmaa reached the end of her operational lifespan in the mid-2010s and the minelayer was decommissioned in late 2013.

[5] She will be replaced by the next generation's surface combatant, bigger than the current missile boats and more capable for international co-operation.

[6] In addition to 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.

[7] When Pohjanmaa was decommissioned, it was stated that the vessel would be either sold or scrapped if a sufficient buyer is not found.

[11] The Finnish towing and salvage company Alfons Håkans also offered to buy the vessel, but was declined.

The vessel would be broken up in Finland and the operation, which was expected to begin in March 2016, would cost about 248,100 euro.