Inland waterways traffic season about to start

Tighter safety regulations to be introduced in July

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Judging by the number of advance reservations, the cruise season on Finland’s inland waterways looks set to become busy. As the cruise season through the Saimaa Canal to the Russian (formerly Finnish) city of Vyborg will officially commence on Friday, companies are hoping for a sunny but not too hot summer.
     
Safety regulations will become tighter also for the inland waterborne traffic this summer. From the beginning of July all vessels over 24 metres in length have to be equipped with AIS (Automatic Identification System) equipment. AIS enables the movements of the vessel to be followed from the bridge and from the water traffic control centre alike.
      According to Markku Ruuska from the Finnish Maritime Administration, the reform applies to dozens of vessels. The equipment required by the EU and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) costs thousands of euros per ship.
      A safety law for inland vessels is also in the making. The law will take into account the EU directive concerning passenger vessels. The present directive applies only to maritime traffic, in other words, vessels operating in the inland lakes are currently outside the legislation.
     
Ruuska suspects that some shipping companies may run into difficulties when their vessels have to be divided into waterproof compartments. Wood and other flammable materials are commonly used in the furnishings, and tighter fire safety regulations may also be introduced in the near future.
      Ruuska fears that such changes in requirements may well put some lake cruise operators out of business, if they have to invest large sums of money into updating safety features.
      There have not been any serious accidents in the Finnish inland water traffic in many years. "And if there was an accident, the chances of survival are much better than at sea. During the tourism season the water is warm, and the distance to the shore is relatively short", Ruuska points out.
     
Lappeenranta-based Karelia Lines’ vessel M/S Camilla sails to the Saimaa Canal and to the archipelago. Finland’s largest inland water vessel was equipped with AIS a month ago. The vessel’s chief engineer Matti Lähdesmäki is impressed with the device.


Links:
  Finnish Maritime Administration

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