Abridged Ice Glossary

Bergy Bit - A large piece of floating glacier ice, generally showing less than 5 m above sea level, but more than 1 m
and normally about 100-300m2 in area.

Bergy Water - An area of freely navigable water in which ice of land origin is present in concentration less than
1/10. There may be sea ice present, although the total concentration of all ice shall not exceed 1/10.

Bight - An extensive crescent-shaped indentation in the ice edge, formed by either wind or current.

Brash Ice - Accumulations of floating ice made up of fragments not more than 2 m across, the wreckage of other
forms of ice.

Close Ice - Floating ice in which the concentration is 7/10 to 8/10, composed of floes mostly in contact.

Compacted Ice Edge - Close, clear-cut ice edge compacted by wind or current, usually on the windward side of an
area of drift ice.

Concentration - The ratio expressed in tenths describing the amount of the sea surface covered by ice as a fraction
of the whole area being considered. Total concentration includes all stages of development that are present, whereas
partial concentration may refer to the amount of a particular stage or a particular form of ice and represents only a
part of the total.

Consolidated Ice - Floating ice in which the concentration is 10/10 and the floes are frozen together.

Crack - Any fracture which has not parted.

Drift Ice*/Pack Ice - Term used in a wide sense to include any area of sea ice other than fast ice no matter what
form it takes or how it is dispersed. When concentrations are high, i.e. 7/10 or more, drift ice may be replaced by the
term Pack Ice. (*Previously the term pack ice was used for all ranges of concentration.)

Fast Ice - Sea ice which forms and remains fast along the coast where it is attached to the shore, to an ice wall, or to
an ice front, or between shoals or grounded icebergs. Vertical fluctuations may be observed during changes of sea
level. Fast ice may be formed in situ from sea water or by freezing of floating ice of any age to the shore, and it may
extend a few metres or several hundred kilometres from the coast. Fast ice more than one year old may be prefixed
with the appropriate age category: old, second-year, or multi-year. If it is thicker than about 2 m above sea level, it is
called an ice shelf.

Fast Ice Edge - The demarcation at any given time between fast ice and open water.

First-year Ice - Sea ice of not more than one winter's growth, developing from young ice; thickness from 30 cm to
2 m may be subdivided into thin first-year ice/white ice, medium first-year ice, and thick first-year ice.

Flaw - A narrow separation zone between pack ice and fast ice where the pieces of ice are in a chaotic state; it forms
when pack ice shears under the effect of a strong wind or current along the fast ice boundary (cf. shearing)

Flaw Lead - A passageway between drift ice and fast ice which is navigable by surface vessels.

Floating Ice - Any form of ice found floating in water. The principal kinds of floating ice are lake ice, river ice, and
sea ice, which form by the freezing of water at the surface, and glacier ice (ice of land origin) formed on land or in
an ice shelf. The concept includes ice that is stranded or grounded.

Floe - Any relatively flat piece of sea ice 20 m or more across. Floes are subdivided according to horizontal extent
as follows: Giant - over 10 km across; Vast - 2-10 km across; Big - 500-2,000 m across; Medium - 100-500 m
across; Small - 20-100 m across.

Floeberg - A massive piece of sea ice composed of a hummock or a group of hummocks, frozen together and
separated from ice surroundings. It may typically protrude up to 50 m above the sea level.

Frazil Ice - Fine spicules or plates of ice suspended in water.

Glacier Ice - Ice in or originating from a glacier, whether on land or floating on the sea as icebergs, bergy bits, or
growlers.

Grease Ice - A later stage of freezing than frazil ice when the crystals have coagulated to form a soupy layer on the
surface. Grease ice reflects little light, giving the sea a matte appearance.
Grey Ice - Young ice 10-15 cm thick. Less elastic than nilas and breaks on swell. Usually rafts under pressure.

Grounded Ice - Floating ice aground in shoal water (cf. Stranded ice).

Growler - Smaller piece of ice than a bergy bit or floeberg, often transparent but appearing green or almost black in
colour, extending less than 1 m above the sea surface and normally occupying an area of about 20 sq. m.

Hummocked Ice - Sea ice piled haphazardly, one piece over another, to form an uneven surface. When weathered it
has the appearance of smooth hillocks.

Iceberg - A massive piece of ice of greatly varying shape, more than 5 m above sea level, which has broken away
from a glacier, and which may be afloat or aground. Icebergs may be described as tabular, domeshaped, sloping,
pinnacled, weathered, or glacierbergs.

Icebound - A harbour, inlet, etc., is said to be icebound when navigation by ships is prevented by ice, except
possibly with the assistance of an icebreaker.

Ice Boundary - The demarcation at any given time between fast ice and drift ice or between areas of drift ice of
different concentrations (cf. ice edge).

Ice Cake - Any relatively flat piece of ice less than 20 m across.

Ice Edge - The demarcation at any given time between the open sea and sea ice of any kind, whether fast or drifting.
It may be termed compacted or diffuse (cf. ice boundary).

Ice Field - Area of floating ice consisting of floes of any size, which is greater than 10 km across (cf. ice patch).

Ice Free - No ice present. If ice of any kind is present, this term should not be used.

Ice Jam - An accumulation of broken river ice or sea ice caught in a narrow channel.

Ice Patch - An area of floating ice less than 10 km across.

Ice Under Pressure - Ice in which deformation processes are actively occurring, hence a potential impediment or
danger to shipping.

Large Fracture - More than 500 m wide.

Lead - Any fracture or passageway through sea ice which is navigable by surface vessels.

Mult-Year Ice - Old ice up to 3 m or more thick which has survived at least two summers' melt. Hummocks are
smoother than in second-year ice, and the ice is almost salt-free. Color, where bare, is usually blue. Melt pattern
consists of large interconnecting irregular puddles and a well-developed drainage system.

New Ice - A general term for recently formed ice, which includes frazil ice, grease ice, slush, and shuga. These
types of ice are composed of ice crystals which are only weakly frozen together (if at all) and have a definite form
only while they are afloat.

Nilas - A thin elastic crust of ice, easily bending on waves and swell under pressure, thrusting in a pattern of
interlocking "fingers" (finger rafting). Has a matte surface and is up to 10 cm in thickness. May be subdivided into
dark nilas and light nilas.

Nip - Ice is said to nip when it forcibly presses against a ship. A vessel so caught, though undamaged, is said to have
been nipped.

Old Ice - Sea ice which has survived at least one summer's melt. Most topographic features are smoother than on
first year ice. May be subdivided into second-year and multi-year ice.

Open Ice - Floating ice in which the ice concentration is 4/10 to 6/10, with many leads and polynyas, and the floes
are generally not in contact with one another.

Open Water - A large area of freely navigable water in which sea ice is present in concentrations less than 1/10. No
ice of land origin is present, although the total concentration of all ice shall not exceed 1/10.

Pack Ice - See Drift Ice

Pancake Ice - Predominantly circular pieces of ice 30 m in diameter, up to 10 cm in thickness, with raised rims due
to the pieces striking against one another.

May form on a slight swell from the grease ice, shuga or slush, or as a result of the breaking of ice rind, nilas or,
under severe conditions of swell or waves, of grey ice.

Sometimes forms at some depth at an interface between water bodies of different physical characteristics, then floats
to the surface. Its appearance may rapidly cover wide areas of water.

Polynya - Any non-linear shaped opening enclosed in ice. Polynyas may contain brash ice and/or be covered with
new ice, nilas or young ice. Sometimes the polynya is limited on one side by the coast and is then called a shore
polynya or by fast ice and is called a flaw polynya.

Rafting - Pressure processes whereby one piece of ice overrides another. Most common in new and young ice (cf.
finger rafting).

Ram - An underwater ice projection from an ice wall, ice front, iceberg, or a floe. its formation is usually due to
more intensive melting and erosion of the unsubmerged part.

Ridge - A line or wall of broken ice forced up by pressure. May be fresh or weathered. The submerged volume of
broken ice under a ridge forced downwards by pressure is termed an ice keel.

Rotten Ice - Sea ice which has become honeycombed and which is in an advanced state of disintegration.

Sea Ice - Any form of ice found at sea which has originated from the freezing of sea water.

Second-Year Ice - Old ice which has survived only one summer's melt.

Because it is thicker and less dense than first-year ice, it stands higher out of the water. In contrast to multi-year ice,
summer melting produces a regular pattern of numerous small puddles. Bare patches and puddles are usually
greenish-blue.

Shore Lead - A lead between drift ice and the shore or between drift ice and an ice font.

Shuga - An accumulation of spongy white ice lumps, a few centimetres across; formed from grease ice or slush and
sometimes from anchor ice rising to the surface.

Slush - Snow which is saturated and mixed with water on land or ice surfaces, or as a viscous floating mass in water
after a heavy snowfall.

Strip - Long narrow area of floating ice, about 1 km or less in width, usually composed of small fragments detached
from the main mass of ice, and run together under the influence of wind, swell or current.

Tongue - A projection of the ice edge up to several kilometres in length caused by wind or current.

Very Close Ice - Floating ice in which the concentration is 9/10 to less than 10/10.

Very Open Ice - Floating ice in which the concentration is 1/10 to 3/10 and where water preponderates over ice.

Young Ice - Ice in the transition stage between nilas and first-year ice, 10-30 cm in thickness. May be subdivided
into grey ice and grey-white ice.

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The Baltic Ice Code
FIRST FIGURE: AMOUNT AND ARRANGEMENT OF SEA ICE

0 Ice Free.

1 Open Water - concentration less than 1/10.

2 Very open pack ice - concentration 1/10 to less than 4/10.

3 Open pack ice - concentration 4/10 to 6/10.

4 Close pack ice - concentration 7/10 to 8/10.

5 Very close pack ice - concentration 9/10 to 9+/10 - means 10/10 ice concentration with small openings.

6 Compact pack ice, including consolidated pack ice - concentration 10/10.

7 Fast ice with pack ice outside.

8 Fast ice.

9 Lead in very close or compact pack ice or along the fast ice edge.

/ Unable to report.

SECOND FIGURE: STAGE OF ICE DEVELOPMENT

0 New ice or dark nilas (less than 5 cm. thick)

1 Light nilas (5 to 10 cm. thick) or ice rind.

2 Grey Ice (10 to 15 cm. thick).

3 Grey-white ice (15 to 30 cm. thick).

4 Thin first year ice first stage (30 to 50 cm. thick).

5 Thin first year ice second stage (50 to 70 cm. thick).

6 Medium first year ice (70 to 120 cm. thick).

7 Ice predominantly thinner than 15 cm. with some thicker ice.

8 Ice predominantly 15 to 30 cm. thick with some ice thicker than 30 cm.

9 Ice predominantly thicker than 30 cm. with some thinner ice.

/ No information or unable to report.

THIRD FIGURE: TOPOGRAPHY OR FORM OF ICE

0 Pancake ice, ice cakes, brash ice - less than 20 m. across.

1 Small ice floes - 20 to 100 m. across.

 2 Medium ice floes - 100 to 500 m. across.

3 Big ice floes - 500 to 2000 m. across.

4 Vast or giant ice floes - more than 2000 m. across - or level ice.

5 Rafted ice.

6 Compacted slush or shuga, or compacted brash ice.

7 Hummocked or ridged ice.

8 Thaw holes or many puddles on the ice.

9 Rotten ice

/ No information or unable to report.

FOURTH FIGURE: NAVIGATION CONDITIONS IN ICE

0 Navigation unobstructed.

1 Navigation difficult or dangerous for wooden vessels without ice sheathing.

2 Navigation difficult for unstrengthened or low-powered vessels built of iron or steel. Navigation for wooden
vessels even with ice sheathing not advisable.

3 Navigation without icebreaker assistance possible only for highpowered vessels of strong construction and
suitable for navigation in ice.

4 Navigation proceeds in lead or a broken ice-channel without the assistance of an icebreaker.

5 Icebreaker assistance can only be given to vessels suitable for navigation in ice and of special size.

6 Icebreaker assistance can only be given to vessels of special ice class and of special size.

7 Icebreaker assistance can only be given to vessels after special permission.

8 Navigation temporarily closed.

9 Navigation has ceased.

/ Unknown.

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Baltic Ice Conditions
Performance of Merchant vessels in ice in the Baltic by Kaj Riska, Max Wilhelmsom, Kim Englund, Topi
Leiviskä is the title of Research Report No. 52 from The Winter Navigation Research Board in which they present
the outcome of a study carried out by a team from the Technical University of Helsinki and aimed at a better
understanding of the factors influencing the resistance of a ship in a broken lead in the Baltic during wintertime.

The Winter Navigation Research Board is a joint body set up in 1972 by the Swedish and Finnish Maritime
Administrations for the purpose of initiating and coordinating research in both countries aimed at developing the
winter traffic.

The following excerpts might be of interest to our members:

The ice conditions encountered in the Baltic

The Baltic Sea is a bay with a narrow connection to the ocean. There is not much exchange of ocean water between
the Baltic and the North Sea. Thus the Baltic is less saline than the oceans; the salinity of the northern Baltic is about
4 ppt. The salinity increases towards the straits of Oresund and Great Belt connecting the Baltic to the North Sea.
The Baltic is also relatively shallow, the deepest point is about 460 m and the average depth is 56 m. The
shallowness means that the thermal inertia of the Baltic is small and the development of the ice cover follows
closely the air temperature fluctuations.

The development of the ice cover on the Baltic may be divided into phases according to the development of ice
cover on different parts of the Baltic (Leppäranta & al. 1988). That the phases may be distinguished at all is due to
the different average depth of sea basins and the relatively small water mixing between these. The most notable
phases are the freezing of the Bothnian Bay occurring on average in mid-January, the freezing of the Gulf of Finland
(on average in the end of January) and the freezing of the Bothinian Sea (on average in mid- February).

The phases in the development of the ice cover imply that the Baltic Sea may be divided into four areas which have
discernible ice conditions: The Bothnian Bay, the Bothnian Sea, the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea proper.
When a ship enters the Baltic, she first crosses the Baltic proper and enters the Gulf of Finland or crosses the Åland
or Archipelago Seas to the Bothnian Sea. Ships bound to the northern harbours sail through the Strait Kvarken and
enter the Bothnian Bay. In each case the encountered ice conditions consist of (in order of encounter for ships bound
to Finnish ports):

1. Thin level ice and open pack ice

2. Ridged ice field

3. Old channel entering the archipelago.

The relative areal frequency of or, rather, the relative distance travelled in each of these conditions varies from
winter to winter. A more important factor for ship performance studies is that the ice conditions ships encounter
depend on the operational profile of the ships. More powerful ships proceed independently even through the ridged
ice fields without waiting for icebreaker assistance. Other ships wait for icebreakers to take them to the harbours
from the ice edge. A breakdown of encountered ice conditions makes it clear that most ships anticipate icebreaker
assistance.

Traffic control has an influence on the encountered ice conditions. When the ice conditions become more severe,
ships are directed to sheltered archipelago fairways. For example, during a normal or severe winter, most of the ship
traffic in the Gulf of Finland is directed to the fairway within the archipelago along the coast of southern Finland.
This fairway allows the ships to proceed from the Porkkala lighthouse to the easternmost Finnish harbour, the port
of Hamina, in an old channel. Also the fairway through the Archipelago Sea is preferred as opposed to going
through the Åland Sea. These re-routings are made in order to avoid the ridged ice and compression in the ice cover
in the central Gulf of Finland or the Bothnian Sea.

The pack ice at the ice margin does not usually constitute any limits for ship performance. Only when the level ice
gets thicker does it present problems for ships. Even though ships do not encounter the thickest level ice, because it
exists only in the shorefast ice zone where ships navigate in old channels, the maximum level ice thickness serves as
a good practical measure of the severity of winter.
 Description of ice conditions

I. Level ice thickness

The simplest measure for the ice conditions in the Baltic Sea is the overall maximum thickness of undeformed level
ice. The average annual maximum value of level ice thickness in the northern Baltic is about 70 cm and in the Gulf
of Finland about 40 cm. These thicknesses are for the ice cover in the middle of the sea basins. The shorefast ice is
usually thicker. The absolute maximum thickness of ice observed during the last 100 years is 121 cm in Tornio and
90 cm in Kotka. Ships rarely encounter level ice and practically never level ice of the maximum thickness.

2. Ridged ice

A ridged ice field consists of ice ridges surrounded by level or rafted ice and possibly leads of open water. The
ridges are narrow and long and a ridged ice field is crisscrossed by the ridges. An idealised ice ridge has a triangular
sail above the water level and a similar but bigger keel below the water level. The ridges consist of ice pieces which
have been broken when two ice sheets have moved against each other. After an ice ridge has formed, the pieces
forming the ridge start to freeze together. Also the voids between the pieces below the waterline freeze. In this way a
ridge consolidates. The growth of the consolidated layer is faster than the growth of level ice by a factor inversely
proportional to the square root of the porosity (ratio between void volume to total volume) of the ridge (Leppäranta
1992).

3. Navigation channels

The frequently navigated fairways leading to the main ports along the Finnish coast are covered with brash ice
during every winter. The brash ice forms when ships repeatedly break the ice which starts to freeze after each ship
passage. The ice pieces become almost spherical partly due to erosion and partly due to the propellers milling the
sharp edges. As the Finnish coast is shallow, ships cannot deviate from the fairways and no alternative routes exist.
By the end of winter some of these brash ice channels are so thick and consequently difficult to navigate that some
ships must be escorted through the most severe parts.

The brash ice covering the frequently transited channels consists of rounded ice pieces of different sizes. In the
middle of the channel ice pieces are smaller and a typical diameter is about 30 cm. Much bigger pieces, diameters
more than one meter, can be found. As the smallest cross section of the biggest ice pieces is much larger than the
level ice thickness, the process of forming brash ice must include repeated breaking and refreezing. The growth of
brash ice thickness is controlled by the air temperature and the frequency of ship transits.

Factors influencing the efficiency of winter navigation

The performance of a merchant vessel in ice is determined by its ability to proceed in ice; an ability which usually is
measured with transit times through ice-covered areas and the energy consumed in making the transits. Good
performance in ice is characterised by low ice resistance, high propulsion efficiency and power resulting in high
thrust and also by experience of the crew in manoeuvring the ship through ice. Good ice performance means also
that the ship should not get stuck in ice.

The requirement of good ice performance leads to hull shapes that are not optimal in open water. Especially the
seakeeping characteristics may suffer. Further the increased machinery power and thus price and weight of the
machinery together with higher fuel consumption makes the ice-going ship somewhat less economical in open
water.

A normal merchant vessel operating to and from the Baltic year round do not spend many days in ice. An example
of the average number of annual days spent in ice by Niv Keniira during winters 1985 to -91 were 39. The economy
of Finnish vessels must, however, be based on year round operation. Thus the competitiveness of an ice-going
merchant vessel is determined by how much the open water characteristics are to be compromised by the ice
performance.
The overall performance of individual vessels is relevant from the shipowner's point of view. A broader perspective
is presented if the whole winter navigation system is considered. The navigation system may be influenced in three
ways: Ice classes, traffic restrictions and icebreaker escort. The ice class ensures that the vessels have a proper
strength level to operate in ice. The strength level required is based on ice conditions and operational factors. In
order to ensure as continuous navigation as possible in ice the present ice classes contain some requirements for a
basic performance level. A good performance in ice also influences the ice loading in two ways. It reduces the
probability of high loads on ship sides by reducing the probability to get stuck in compressive ice. At the same time
ships with good ice performance are able to move in more severe ice conditions which cause higher loads.

The present spread of the classes is based on the division of the vessels in basically three categories: two classes of
ice-strengthened vessels and basically open water vessels. The first two classes are IA Super and IA. The lower ice
classes, IB and IC, are reserved for navigation in early winter or for lake navigation. Each class contains a
requirement for minimum propulsion power.

The traffic restrictions state a minimum ice class or deadweight. Ships falling under these limits are not given
icebreaker escort when entering Finnish harbours. These restrictions to navigation, based mainly on the
recommendations of the icebreaker masters, are updated by the Finnish Maritime Administration as the winter
proceeds. The restrictions ensure that there are enough icebreakers to escort vessels which are able to follow the
icebreakers in the broken track, because of their momentum or propulsion power.

The icebreakers are used to escort vessels through the most severe ice conditions. The justification for the
deployment of icebreakers is to limit the required ice-strengthening of merchant vessels so that they are not
uneconomical in open water. Also the number of intermediate shifts in transport mode is minimised when ships are
able to proceed to their end destination. An alternative would be to transport the cargo on land from southern ports.
The use of icebreakers is a compromise because the merchant vessels are required to have some ice-going
capability, otherwise the required number of ice-breakers would be too large.

The above excerpts from the report is published with the kind permission of the Finnish Maritime Administration.

Copyright © 2002 BIMCO. All rights reserved.

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Winter navigation in Baltic/Bothnia
Directions/restrictions for Sea Traffic

The official English translation of the Swedish directions and restrictions for the 2001/2002 winter season is now
available and extracts are reproduced below. The full text is available from: Swedish Maritime Administration,
Icebreaking Department, S601 78 Norrköping, Sweden. (Fax +46 11 10 31 00).

General directives, traffic regulations and traffic directions

The Ice-Breaking Service Ordinance prescribes that ships suitable for winter navigation may obtain icebreaker
assistance in Swedish coastal waters and in the sea-routes to Sweden between open sea and waters which are
sheltered from sea-ice, drift-ice, pack-ice or similar ice obstacles. On Lake Vänern, Lake Mälaren and the
Ångermanälven river difficult ice may be broken by government resources to the extent determined by the Swedish
Maritime Administration.

No charge is levied on towing or any other icebreaker assistance performed by icebreakers in connection with ice-
breaking at sea. The charges for towing in the nature of salvage and for other assistance work are fixed on a year to
year basis by the Swedish Maritime Administration.

The Swedish Maritime Administration will not assume any liability for delay, damage or any other loss, caused to a
ship, its personnel, passengers or load that occur in connection to icebreaker assistance. Assistance and advise is
given to ships at their own risk.

For a vessel to obtain state icebreaker assistance it must as a minimum have the Finnish-Swedish ice class (or
equivalent) and the minimum deadweight (dwt) which are applicable to a specific ice region in accordance with ice
restrictions imposed by the Swedish Maritime Administration.

The Swedish Maritime Administration may refuse to give state icebreaker assistance to vessels whose assistance
devices are out of order, or if hull, engine power, equipment or crew is such that navigation in ice may jeopardize
the safety of the vessel, or if there is reason to suspect that the vessel's capability for navigating in ice is inferior to
what is generally assumed for vessels belonging to the same ice-class.

In light of the above, the Executive Boards of the Finnish and Swedish Ice-Breaking Services have jointly decided
that river vessels as well as tugs including towed vessels cannot count on state icebreaker assistance, even if they
have a relevant ice-class granted by their classification society.

For winter navigation in areas where no specific ice restrictions are issued, the following requirements are imposed
on ships and vessels:

a. The ship shall possess the highest ice-class of a Classification Society approved by the state in question,
or shall otherwise have an equivalent design and strength as proved in an inspection of seaworthiness.

b. The ship shall be equipped with propulsion machinery with sufficient power to enable it to move in easy
ice and in a broken channel inside the skerries without ice-breaker assistance.

c. The ship shall be of at least 500 DWT.

d. The stability of the ship shall be such that it will withstand some degree of icing even when carrying deck
cargo without running the risk of capsizing.

To ensure wintertime navigation safety and effectiveness, the Executive Board of the Ice-Breaking Service at the
Swedish Maritime Administration will issue traffic directions and restrictions as and when required. Restrictions are
issued as minimum requirement for Swedish-Finnish Ice Classes (ice strengthening and engine power) and the
minimum tonnage (DWT). The considerations used when issuing traffic directions and restrictions for a specific sea
region are the prevailing ice and weather situation, forecast developments as well as available ice-breaking
resources.

Information on traffic directions and existing and notified restrictions is obtained, in conjunction with the weather
forecast for sea areas, via the ice-reports issued by the Swedish Hydrological and Meteorological Institute (SMHI).
The ice-report and the relevant information from the Executive Board of the Ice-Breaking Service are broadcast by
Stockholm Radio daily at 1133 Hours (UTC) on VHF and MF traffic channels and MF working frequencies after
announcement on VHF Channel 16 and MF 2182 KHz.

Exemptions from issued restrictions should not be expected. Vessels which due to issued restrictions have not
been granted icebreaker assistance will be instructed to refrain from continuing their notified voyage. Directions for
an alternate port of call may be given.

Requirements for only one loading port and/or one discharging port and a certain minimum cargo can be laid down
as a prerequisite for assistance. Based on issued restrictions the Director of the Government Ice-Breaking Service
will decide whether a ship notified in advance may count on icebreaker assistance and whether in that case it will
have to engage the services of an "ice pilot" during assistance.

Ships granted assistance are brought together in convoys, whenever circumstances render this necessary. Ships
eligible for icebreaker assistance will receive the necessary directions for their voyages.

Unless special circumstances justify otherwise, ships in need of help will be assisted in the following order,
irrespective of their nationality:

a. Ships in distress or in need of help due to mortal danger to those on board.

b. Ships bound for or coming from Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway: in this case preference is given to
passenger ships and vessels carrying goods of special importance,

c. Other ships and vessels.

Ships may be required to give advance notice to the local office of the Ice Breaking Service within a certain time
before arrival at or passing a specific point or line. See the example below.

In order to provide all winter shipping information needed by the Executive Board of the Ice-Breaking Service and
the state icebreakers, ships bound for Swedish and Finnish Ports subject to traffic restrictions and situated in the
Gulf of Bothnia and the Bothnian Sea, are requested to report the following on VHF:

Reporting line:
When passing Svenska Björn* 59 33N 20 01 E
Call signal:VTS STOCKHOLM
Channel:VHF channel 84 (or phone +46 8 666 66 22)
Contents: - ship's name - nationality - destination and ETA - speed
Language:
Swedish or English (using the IMO Marine Standard Phrases)

*A more southerly line can be given if motivated by the ice situation.

In connection with reporting, ships bound for certain ports will receive information about their obligation to get into
contact with the relevant icebreaker before passing a specific point communicated by VTS Stockholm, in order to
obtain information and directives as to route and assistance.

The request for state ice-breaker assistance is usually made directly to the ice-breaker operating in the district
concerned, or to a specific icebreaker designated to receive notifications.

Information on the reporting procedure will be given in daily ice reports and in coast radio station transmissions.

Icebreaker contacts
The icebreaker will continuously monitor VHF channel 16. Contact with an icebreaker can also be established
through any coast radio station, or the icebreaker can be called via mobile phone (NMT), see below.

The Executive Board of the Ice-Breaking Service recommends that vessels navigating in ice-covered waters shall be
equipped with a transponder for automatic Identification of ships (AIS).
Instructions for captains on ships receiving ice-breaking assistance
1. All instructions given from icebreakers must be complied with.

2. Particular attention shall be paid to the following:

a. A careful watch shall be kept for signals coming from icebreakers or any other ship in the convoy. The
recommended VHF channel shall be constantly monitored.

b. The propulsion machinery of the ship shall be constantly ready for rapid manoeuvres.

c. The icebreaker decides if and when the ship shall be towed.

d. The ship shall be prepared to make fast or let go the towing cable at any time.

e. A ship towed by an icebreaker may use its propulsion machinery only according to instructions given from
the icebreaker.

f. If the vessel springs a leak or sustains any other damage that may affect its ability to follow the ice-breaker
or otherwise to comply with the directions given by the icebreaker, the ship must immediately inform the ice-
breaker.

g. To be eligible for icebreaker assistance, ships navigating in ice covered waters must be equipped with a
powerful searchlight. Ships that are part of convoy and which have got stuck in the ice, must keep their searchlights
switched off.

h. In difficult ice-conditions such as hard ice-pressure or passage through heavy ice-ridges, towing might be
the only means for ensuring a safe and effective assistance. Normally, towing will then take place by bringing in the
vessel's stern into the towing notch of the icebreaker. The icebreaker will hand over two or four wires, which are to
be fastened to the towing bollards.

Special conditions for safe towing:

• For bulb vessels, the distance between the top side of the bulb and the ice-breaker hull must be at least two
metres.

• For ships with anchors placed on the outside of the vessel in such a manner that the anchors may come into
contact with the ice-breaker's towing notch, the anchors will have to be catted, i.e. moved astern, or placed
on deck before towing operation can begin.

• While being towed, the vessel shall be steered manually, and the machine must be ready for manoeuvring.

If the above conditions cannot be fulfilled, towing in the icebreaker's notch is no longer safe, therefore not to be
performed. The master of the icebreaker is then entitled to refuse assistance of the ship until assistance without
towing is possible.

3. Instructions to the ship being assisted is given via VHF on a dedicated assistance channel. If the radio
transmission is disconnected the instructions are communicated by sound signals. Icebreakers equipped
with both bass and treble sirens give the signals specified in the table of signals, accordance with following:

o the bass siren is used for all the ships in the convoy

o the treble siren is used for the ship closest to the icebreaker.

4. Bass siren signals given from the icebreaker shall be repeated by ships throughout the convoy, as far as
possible, in the order in which they follow the icebreaker.

5. Bass siren signals can be clarified by means of optical signals with white light visible all around the
 horizon at a minimum distance of 5 M, and arranged such that the optical signal is given simultaneously
and in conjunction with the sound signal.

6. During the hours of darkness, state icebreakers show from their mastheads a blue light visible all around
the horizon..

7. Ships failing to comply with prescribed restrictions and traffic directions or orders given by icebreakers
will be refused assistance..

8. Finnish icebreakers are equipped with two rotating right warning lights located on top of each other which
are lit whenever the icebreaker has to stop unexpectedly or has to make an abrupt reduction in speed. The
assisted ship (or ships) will then have to use every possible means to immediately make full astern. It is to
be noted that this warning equipment does not exist on Swedish ice-breakers.

Radio traffic with state ice-breakers

a. VHF traffic on recommended communication channels shall be used when giving orders from icebreaker to
assisted vessels. In case of failed VHF contact, sound signals specified in the table of signals shall be used.
(State icebreakers keep continuous watch on VHF channel 16 when at sea. Long distance communication
between merchant ship and ice-breaker can be carried out via a coastal radio station. It is also possible to
contact the icebreaker by mobile telephone.)

b. The code letters and mobile telephone numbers (NMT), for the Swedish ice-breakers are as follows: Oden
SMLQ +46-(0)10239 37 70; Ymer SDIA +46-(0)10239 3771; Frej SBPT +46-(0)10239 37 72; Atle SBPR
+45-(0)10239 37 73; Ale SBPQ +46-(0)10239 00 28; Tor Viking LLMX +46-(0)10282 9010; Balder
Viking SLKA +46-(0)10282 90 11; Vidar Viking SLKD +46-(0)10282 90 12; Baltica SJOY +46-
(0)10?239 00 11; Scandica SKFZ +46-(0)10239 05 15.

c. The code letters and mobile telephone numbers (NMT), for the Finnish icebreakers are as follows: Urho
OHMS +358-(0)49 219 681; Sisu OHMW +358-(0)49 219 682; Voima OHLW +358-(0)49 318 156; Otso
OIRT +358-(0)49 219 680; Kontio OIRV +358-(0)49 314 492; Apu OHMP +358-(0)49 314 490; Fennica
OJAD +358-(0)49 107 159; Nordica OJAE +358-(0)49 246 551; Bothnica OJAK +358-(0)49
203876/+358-(0)400 203 876.

Ice-class designations

When defining ice-strengthening requirements, the Swedish Maritime Administration uses the Finnish-Swedish Ice-
Class Designations valid as from 1 January, 1987. The maximum ice-class draught amidships shall normally be
taken as the summertime freshwater load line draught according to Finnish-Swedish Ice Classes, SJÖFS 1986:14.

In the tables produced with this article a comparison is given between the Finnish-Swedish Ice-Class Designations
and the class designations used by selected Classification Societies, together with a supplement giving the degree of
ice-strengthening. The Finnish-Swedish ice class designations are as follows:

Ice class 1A Super for traffic in extremely difficult ice conditions

Ice class 1A for traffic in difficult ice conditions
Ice class 1B for traffic in moderately difficult ice conditions
Ice class 1C for traffic in easy ice conditions
Ice class II for traffic in very easy ice conditions
Guiding Data for Restrictions

For the Gulf of Bothnia and the Bothnian Sea, the following dates of entry into force of restrictions should normally
be reckoned with:
Bay of Bothnia Bothnian Sea
At least ice class II,minimum 1,300 DWT. 1/12 1/1
At least ice class II,minimum 2,000 DWT. or:
At least ice class 1 C minimum 1,300 DWT. 15/12 15/1
At least ice class 1B minimum 2,000 DWT. 1/1 1/2
At least ice class 1A,minimum 3,000 DWT. 15/1 15/2
At least ice class 1A, minimum 4,000 DWT. 31/1 -
At least ice class 1A,minimum 3000 DWT. 10/4 -
At least ice class 1B,minimum 2,000 DWT. 10/5 1/4
At least ice class II,minimum 2,000 DWT. or:
At least ice class 1 C,minimum 1,300 DWT. 15/5 15/4
At difficult ice-conditions, further restrictions may come into question, or ships will be assisted only after obtaining
permission in each specific case.

At difficult ice-conditions, further restrictions may come into question, or ships will be assisted only after obtaining
permission in each specific case..

Local icebreakers of sufficient size and with adequate engine power must be available within the various districts.
Normally, local ice-breakers cannot count on state icebreaker assistance from one district to another, nor within their
own respective districts. Thus, small harbours and loading wharves in particular may have to be closed if there is a
lack of locally owned icebreakers, even if navigation is in progress within other parts of the same region.

Due to variations in winter ice-conditions it is not possible to give the corresponding guiding data for shipping in
other coastal areas. In Lake Vänern and Lake Mälaren one would normally have to expect restrictions being
imposed during the months of January through April.

Note: In the Swedish language the Gulf of Bothnia is divided into two parts. The northern part, north of the North
Kvarken, is called the Bay of Bothnia and the area between the North and the South Kvarken is called the Sea of
Bothnia.

Danger of icing

Danger can arise under certain conditions for ships and cargoes as a result of icing before the ship has arrived at the
ice-covered waters or after the ship has left the ice covered waters. As soon as the temperature of the surface water
has dropped to the vicinity of 0° C (+3° C and below) ice can be formed on the deck, superstructure and deck cargo,
if any, of the ship in conjunction with water breaking or spraying over the deck. As the layer of ice grows, a
displacement in weight takes place. This displacement reduces the stability of the ship.

If the ice cannot be removed, the point is gradually reached where the metacentric height becomes so low that the
ship runs the risk of capsizing. Icing can also take place at higher water temperatures if the air temperature is below
0° C. In this case the water breaking over the ship is cooled down by the air and ice is formed when the water comes
in contact with the cold surfaces on board.

Consequently, captains on ship which traffic the Baltic area during the winter must be constantly prepared for the
occurrence of icing on their ships in severe weather conditions. When keen winds are expected and the weather is
such that there is danger of icing, small ships at sea are advised to seek shelter, ships in port should remain where
they are until the weather improves

Sea rescue

As a result of the shipping catastrophes which have occurred in the Baltic due to severe weather conditions and
icing, all ship's captains, particularly foreign captains who have not had experience of icing, are exhorted to contract
the nearest Swedish coastal station as soon as difficulties arise for their ships at sea off the Swedish coast and report
their difficulties together with their positions, course and other information which may be of importance. In this way
their situation will become known to the various bodies included in the sea rescue service and these can, if the
situation should worsen, prepare to intervene before it is too late. Safety measures of this type are available free of
charge for ships.
Instructions for shipwrecked persons

Should a marine disaster, in which those in distress are forced to jump into the water or to enter the lifeboats, occur
during the winter it is of the greatest importance that those involved be warmly clothed. Wet clothes should be kept
on. Above all, gloves or mittens should not be thrown away.

Hands must be protected against rapid chilling so that those in distress can hold on to lifelines or suchlike. Tests
have been carried out in Sweden with watertight clothing in water with a temperature of 4° C. The tests were carried
out both with hands of the test subjects unprotected and protected. In the tests in which hands were not protected, the
skin temperature of the hands had dropped to 10° C after 30 minutes, the temperature at the finger tips was 5° C and
the pain experienced at the finger tips was so severe that the fingers could not be used. When hands were protected
by good quality mittens, the hand temperature was still approximately 20° C after 30 minutes. Skin exposed to cold
and wind will suffer local freezing at the air temperatures and wind forces specified below:

-4° C approx. 20 m/s;

-8° C approx. 10 m/s;
-14° C approx. 5 m/s;
-34° C approx. 1 m/s n

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