New nautical publication, Sailing Directions for Finnish Waters, published by Traficom
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom says it has published a new nautical publication, Sailing Directions for Finnish Waters. The publication contains general information about maritime transport and navigation in Finland, aimed particularly at international operators, and channel descriptions for specific areas. The channel descriptions include depth and design data with general notes on the usage of the main approach channels.
Traficom is responsible for the publication of nautical charts and nautical publications in Finland. Nautical publications contain additional information to support the use of nautical charts. Traficom has published a new nautical publication called Sailing Directions for Finnish Waters. The directions consist of a general information part (Part 1) and several channel descriptions for specific regions (Part 2 – Main approach channels).
The first part of the publication includes general information about maritime transport and navigation in Finland, and it is published in English. The information is intended for international mariners and other maritime operators. The channel descriptions contain depth and design data on the main approach channels and general notes on the usage of the channels. Channel descriptions are published in Finnish, Swedish and English.
Chart products and channel depth data will gradually be tied to the N2000 vertical coordinate reference system starting from the end of this year. The first N2000 nautical charts covering fairways from Tornio to Raahe will be published before the end of the year. The first version of the sailing directions will include the general information part and the first volume of channel descriptions 2.3.3 Tornio–Raahe. Information on new publications and updates will be provided separately. Mariners should follow the Notices to Mariners and ensure that the latest publications and any necessary linked material are available on board.
The sailing directions include links to the fairway cards maintained by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (FTIA) (External link). The FTIA will update the fairway cards to comply with the N2000 reference system in connection with the publication of new coastal charts. Updated fairway cards can be recognised by the marking “N2000 (BSCD2000)” at the top of the card. The FTIA is launching a project to replace the traditional fairway cards with a new digital service.