By the Government of Russia Regulation dated 27.11.2013 No. 2212-r a draft agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Finland on cooperation and collaboration in provision of services for icebreaker support in the Baltic Sea was approved. The draft was submitted by the Russian Ministry of Transportation, coordinated with all the interested federal executive authorities and previously worked out with the Republic of Finland.

The purpose of this agreement is to organize cooperation and collaboration between the governments of the two countries in providing icebreaker assistance to the vessels in the Baltic Sea in the territorial and internal waters of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Finland and beyond them. The draft agreement regulates the mechanism and conditions of providing icebreaker support by the parties which is carried out on the basis of a commercial contract determining the recovery of costs order and the specific conditions to provide icebreaker assistance for the vessels.

The Russian Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Finland are planned to be appointed the competent authorities of the parties responsible for the implementation of the agreement, and FSUE "Rosmorport" on the Russian side and the Transport Agency on the Finnish side will be directly responsible for the icebreaker assistance to the vessels.

The Government of Russia by its Regulation dated 27.11.2013 No. 2212-r instructed the Russian Ministry of Transportation to conduct negotiations with the Finnish party and upon reaching consensus to sign the named agreement on behalf of the Russian government, allowed, if necessary, to bring not fundamental changes in the attached draft agreement.
 
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During the period of winter navigation 2012-2013 the North-West Basin Branch assisted over 3.5 thousand times in ice navigation, including 10 times of individual icebreaker assistance of the vessels bound for Russian seaports at the Gulf of Finland eastern part. In total during the period of winter navigation the branch using its own and borrowed icebreakers assisted over 3.8 thousand vessels.