Icebreakers owned and chartered by Rosmorport, “Captain Bukaev", "Captain Chechkin" and "Captain Metsayk" are escorting sea-bound 8 merchant ships, as of 09:00 am, Dec. 26, on the 95-135 stretch of Volga-Caspian Shipping Canal (VCSC), the Ice Operations HQ said.
Weather forecast in the port of Astrakhan (3049 km of Volga): calm, visibility - over 5 km, air temperature - 4 C°; on the 128 km stretch of VCSC - calm, visibility exceeds 5 km, air temperature - 1 C°.
Previously, Astrakhan and Olya ports captains had released orders banning entry of vessels without ice-class and ATBs in the waters of Astrakhan and Olya ports and at Astrakhan offshore anchorage, as from midnight of December 18, 2013.
Vessels are allowed to pass the port of Olya, from the 115km of the VCSC to the southern border of the canal and to Astrakhan offshore anchorage in convoys escorted by icebreakers.