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  • 2012 July 5

    Icebreaking services need changes

    Management of icebreakers fleet at all freezing ports of Russia during the 2012-2013 winter navigation will be organized in new ways. The positive experience of icebreaking operations in the Gulf of Finland and a system of real-time monitoring of weather conditions and ice movement could be adopted at other ports.

    Last winter escorting ships by icebreaker was carried out at 22 seaports of the Russian Federation. The duration of icebreaker assistance ranged from 76 days at the port of Vanino to 193 days at the port of Magadan. Rosmorrechflot Deputy Director Yuri Kostin said at the agency’s Council meeting on June 29, 2012 that safe and smooth port operations were ensured by 35 open sea and port icebreakers, including Rosmorport’s 26 icebreakers, FSUE Atomflot owned 4 vessels, FESCO’s 4 vessels and North-Western Shipping Company deployed one icebreaker. In some ports, ice-breaking services were provided by icebreakers and tugs of private companies. At the port of Varandey cargo ships were escorting through ice-covered waters by LUKOIL owned the Varandey and the tug Toboy, in Dudinka – by icebreaker Dudinka of MMC Norilsk Nickel, at Vanino – by ice-class tugs "Tungui and Urga of Daltransugol and by icebreakers Admiral Makarov and Krasin (under agreement between FESCO and Rosmorport.

    Rough sea of Azov

    The most difficult situation was reported in the country’s southern ports at the Azov Sea. There was over a hundred of cargo ships trapped in the ice with multi-billion losses shipping companies incurred. According to the President of the Association of Shipping Companies (ASC) Alexei Klyavin, the total losses the Association members incurred in ports of Rostov-on-Don, Azov, Temryuk and Yeysk amounted to about 600 ship/days, and in the southern part of the Kerch Strait - more than 1,000 ship/days. "Direct losses are estimated at about RUB 80 million. And lost profits - about 160 million rubles," Klyavin told Rosmorrechflot meeting. President of ASC said that the enterprises subordinated to Rosmorrechflot suffered this winter severe damage and serious problems.

    According to Operations CEO of North-Western Shipping Company (NWSC) Andrei Proshin it is very important for shipping company to obtain timely information about weather conditions in the a region and icebreaking assistance. "This forecast should be accessible and have some legal force so that the ship owner could subsequently use in disputes with charterers,” said Proshin. “The formation of ice convoys must have transparency, announced on the website of the Ice Ops HQ at least one, two days before its formation."


    In order to improve the management of icebreaking operations in the Sea of Azov, in the port of Rostov-on-Don before the 2012-2013 winter season it has been decided to create Unified Situations Center of the Basin Commission (HQ) of the Azov Sea (USCBC) based on the experience of creating a Unified Situations Center in the Baltic Sea. The Taganrog Port Authority website plans to post the information from the USCBC.

    Deputy Minister of Transport Viktor Olersky who participated in the Rosmorrechflot Council meeting added that it is planned to supply the port of Rostov-on-Don and the ports of Astrakhan, Arkhangelsk and Vanino with computer systems similar to that of the Big Port Petersburg Ice Ops HQ. The Rosmorrechflot Council made special mention of the activity of the Baltic Ice Ops HQ. As President of ASC Alexei Klyavin said that the past winter navigation "icebreaking assistance to the Russian ports in the Gulf of Finland was organized perfectly."

    Vanino is waiting for icebreaker

    Last winter the Far Eastern port of Vanino was struggling with the ice, the port has not seen in the last 20 years. During this severe winter, two icebreakers "Admiral Makarov" and "Krasin" were deployed under the contract to assist shipping at the port.  The Minister of Transportation is considering the possibility to employ an icebreaker for a permanent job at the port of Vanino given the expected growth of freight flows passing through the port.

    "We should deploy an icebreaker in Vanino on continuing basis", said Victor Olersky. He recalled that the coal company "SUEK" intends to significantly increase traffic at its own terminal in the Bay Muchka (Vanino Bulk Cargo Terminal). In addition, the port announced other investment projects related to boost cargo volume.

    The work in fact

    It is expected that all Russian freezing ports will have weather and ice monitoring system installed before the coming winter. Based on this information, the regional centers will calculate the route of convoys escorted by icebreakers.

    To improve the icebreaking operations management in the Russian ports Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) will be instructed to take into account actual characteristics of vessels (primarily its power), the actual condition of the shell and its ice class when issuing Certificates of acceptable conditions for ice navigation during the 2012-2013 winter season. Thus, it will be determined the actual icebreaking capability of a vessel for safe navigation in severe ice conditions. The masters and icebreaker captains escorting merchant ships will have to get real information about the allowable safe speed in the ice-free channel following the icebreaker. Rosmorrechflot proposes to develop an identification table, which allows establishing nearly the same level of structural safety of ships of RS of the Russian River Register (RRR).


    Mr. Costin also pointed out the need before the coming winter season to adopt Mandatory Regulations for all freezing sea ports, which would establish the admission of vessels for independent navigation in the ice, the requirements for the technical readiness of the vessel when navigating in ice.

    Nadezhda Malysheva.

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