North-Western Basin Branch News

Deputy director of the North-Western Basin Branch, chief of the Vyborg-Vysotsk Directorate takes part in a meeting with authorized representatives for the Saimaa channel

Deputy director of the North-Western Basin Branch, chief of the Vyborg-Vysotsk Directorate Andrey Kovtun met with Russian and Finnish authorized representatives for the Saimaa channel on August 28, 2019.

Russia was represented by Russian authorized representative for the Saimaa channel, Russian Deputy Transport Minister – Head of Rosmorrechflot Yuri Tsvetkov and the officials accompanying him. Finland was represented by Finnish authorized representative for the Saimaa channel Harri Pursiainen, state secretary of the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, and other officials.

The participants in the meeting discussed issues included in the agenda. Particularly, they discussed a paper entitled “Navigational Modelling of Shipping Processes for Determining the Conditions of Safe Navigation of Vessels with Increased Dimensions on the Walkway of the Saimaa Channel”. The paper has been presented by the FSUE “Rosmorport” North-Western Basin Branch and carried out by the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Military Education “Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping” on the order of the enterprise.

In the course of this paper the university inspected the movement of vessels with increased dimensions of up to 93 meters in length and 4.45 meters in draft on the channel and confirmed that they could move on it. It is expected that while implementing this project economic effectiveness of transportation will increase due to the increase in cargo carrying capacity of vessels.

Finnish representatives highly assessed the results of this paper and thanked the Russian side for its prompt performance.

Based on the results of the meeting the sides confirmed their states’ aspiration for further development of infrastructural facilities and technical equipment of the Saimaa channel and new technologies aimed at increasing safety and the capacity of the channel.

In particular, the parties took a decision to hold training tests jointly with Finnish specialists on the base of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Military Education “Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping” to receive a conclusion on possible navigation across the Saimaa fairway by vessels of greater dimension, as well as on the risks linked to carrying out such transportation.

For reference

On Russia’s part of the Saimaa channel the North-Western Basin Branch renders pilotage and icebreaker services for vessels making navigation across the Saimaa channel. Material and human resources of the branch help make maintenance of 67 floating marks and carry out dredging operations to maintain guaranteed depths on fairways of Russia’s part of the Saimaa channel.

The Saimaa channel is a navigable channel between the Saimaa Lake in Finland and the Gulf of Finland. The total distance of the channel is 57.3 kilometers (34 kilometers in Russia and 23.3 kilometers in Finland). The onshore distance of the channel is 42.9 kilometers (19.6 kilometers in Russia and 23.3 kilometers in Finland), the seaway is 14.4 kilometers. The channel is accessible for navigation of river, lake and marine vessels. The duration of navigation on the Saimaa channel is annually determined by an authorized representative for the Saimaa channel depending on ice conditions. On the average the navigation lasts for 275 days (nine months). The Saimaa channel unites Finland’s largest navigable lake system with the Gulf of Finland. The channel allows for making pilotage of vessels to European seaports from ports of internal waters of Eastern Finland, as well as to internal ports of Central and East European countries. The most part of cargo carrying capacity accounts for wood, construction materials, fertilizers, cellulose, paper, coal and lumber.