Harbour Master in his regulation (No45, Dec. 12, 2016) established a new date for ice navigation restrictions for ships entering Big Port St. Petersburg. The restrictions will come info force later this year thanks to slow formation of ice in water basin of the seaport “Big Port Saint-Petersburg".
The regulation reads: “as of midnight of Moscow Time, December 26, 2016 when the ice thickness reaches 10-15 cm in the harbor and on access channels the following restrictions will come into force:
- Vessels without ice class hulls are allowed to enter / exit the port only under the icebreaker escort;
- Ships with ICE I class and above are allowed to sail in the ice waters independently upon receiving permission and guidelines or with icebreaker assistance".
In addition, according to the Regulation, one-way traffic is established as from 00:00, December 26, 2016 within the Kronstadt Korabelny fairway of St. Petersburg sea channel.