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Thursday, 28.03.2024, 12:38
Botnica to start breaking ice in Gulf of Finland
Botnica was scheduled to sail out of the harbor of Paljassaare in the afternoon and to reach the region of Sillamae around midnight to help the freighter, Priit Poiklik, spokesman for the Estonian Maritime Administration, told BNS.
The icebrealer was to sail out of Paljassaare with up
to 100,000 liters of fuel in its tanks, about four days' supply when
icebreaking work is performed.
The German flagged Neuland become stuck in ice shortly
after exiting the port of Sillamae.
After freeing the German vessel, Botnica will cary out
ice reconnaissance in the Sillamae-Kunda area to inform ships by radio and
provide guidance in entering and exiting of port if necessary.
Poiklik said that in the Gulf of Finland the sea has
become icebound or packed ice has built up primarily in the area near Sillamae.
The Estonian Maritime Administration has established a
requirement effective March 1 for all ships about to enter or leave Sillamae
Port to have a Lloyd's Register ice class of at least 1D or equal by another
classification society, and main engine power of at least 1,200 kilowatts.
Last winter, icebreaking was conducted in the Gulf of
Finland only during a few days when currents and winds carried packed ice
to the Sillamae area and nine ships had to be helped through the ice there.
Under a contract for 2012-2022 awarded following a
public procurement tender, the government pays 4.7 million euros as charter fee
and a standby charge for four winter months for the services of the Botnica, a
multipurpose vessel belonging to the Port of Tallinn subsidiary TS Shipping, per year. During the period of icebreaking operations an additional fuel
charge for an average of 30,000 liters of fuel per day is added.
The state budget for 2018 sets aside 6.4 million euros
for icebreaking operations. The Maritime Administration believes that the
amount of money actually needed for this purpose will be bigger.
Estonia has altogether four vessels at its disposal to
carry out icebreaking operations. Two of them -- Tarmo and EVA-316 -- belong to
the state. The former is used in the function of standby icebreaker for
the Gulf of Finland and the latter as the main icebreaker for the Gulf of Riga.
The third vessel is Botnica and the fourth the tug Protector of the company
AS Alfons Hakans, which has been chartered for this icebreaking season as a standby vessel
in the Gulf of Riga to help out when EVA-316 needs maintenance, which has
happened already.