On the night of 28 to 29 January, 2014 the operator of the North-West Basin Branch regional vessel traffic control system of the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland received a message on the light signals in the Gulf of Finland water area. The Kapitan Nikolaev icebreaker of the branch was sent to the place of the distress signal and found a game fisherman drifting on an ice floe near the Lebyazhe village. Information on the man in distress was transferred to the St. Petersburg Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of FSI "Administration of the Big Port of St. Petersburg".

A helicopter was sent to help the game fisherman by the Head Office of Emergency of Russia for St. Petersburg.

During the rescue operation taking place in four kilometers from the coast the Kapitan Nikolaev icebreaker, for the mutual coordination of activities, exercised constant radio contact with the helicopter crew and covered the area of rescue operation with the ship searchlights.

As a result of the concerted actions of the Russian Emergency rescue units and the crew of the Kapitan Nikolaev icebreaker the rescued game fisherman was promptly delivered by helicopter to the shore.