Icebreakers escorted 9 vessels in the Gulf of Finland over the day-long period
Over the last day period icebreaker escort services in the Gulf of Finland were provided to 9 vessels, says Ice Operations Headquarters of Baltic Sea Ports Administration.
Since the beginning of the 2015-2016 winter navigation season icebreakers have assisted 113 vessels.
As of January 18, ice situation is as follows: Neva Bay - 15-25 cm thick ice, ice formation is in progress; Primorsk - 10 cm at the approaches and 10 points of thickness of 25 cm in the port’s water area; Ust-Luga – 10-15 cm of border ice at the river anchorage area and 3-5 cm thick ice at the sea port and at the berths; approaches to Vysotsk - 5-10 cm, Vysotsk-Vyborg canal - 15-20 cm, Saimaa channel – 15-25 cm, Björkösund strait – 15-25 cm thick shore ice with an intensive ice buildup.
The following icebreakers are currently involved in the operations: Semen Dezhnev, Mudyug and Ivan Kruzenshtern - seaway canal of Big Port St. Petersburg, Yury Lisyansky - port Primorsk, Kapitan Izmailov and Karu - approaches to Vyborg and Vysotsk ports.
Kapitan Sorokin, Ermak and Kapitan Nikolaev icebreakers are in reserve, ready for operation.
Other icebreakers (Saint-Petersburg, Vladivostok, Murmansk and Kapitan Zarubin) are undergoing technical recovery. Main propulsion power of the Kapitan Plakhin is limited to 73%.
