2017/0250/FIN
EC/EFTA
FI Finnland
  • T20T - Seetransport und Binnenschifffahrtstransport
2017-09-18
2017-06-21

Ship ice-strengthening and engine-power requirements according to the Finnish-Swedish ice class regulations

Ice class regulations and the application thereof

The Finnish and Swedish maritime authorities have been developing and publishing the Finnish-Swedish ice class regulations since 1971. The ice class regulations have since been amended five times. The current version thereof was published in 2010. All international classification societies have adopted the Finnish-Swedish ice class regulations as their own classification rules.

The ice class regulations provide for more detailed provisions concerning the structure, engine power and other ice navigation properties of ships, the methods for determining ice classes, and the differences between them, in accordance with the provisions of § 4, subsection 1 of the Act on the Ice Classes of Ships and Icebreaker Assistance (1121/2005).

The ice class regulations define the ship’s minimum engine power, the strength of the hull as well as the strength of the machinery and the propeller. The aim of the ice class regulations is to ensure that the characteristics of ships sailing in the Baltic Sea are sufficient for moving in ice-covered water, thereby making winter transport safe and as smooth as possible.

Keywords: winter navigation, ship, ice class, structure, engine power, hull, machinery, propeller