The Ilyichevsk seaport (Odessa region) has announced the commencement of an ice campaign from midnight on February 1, the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure has announced.
According to the port authority’s hydrometeorological bureau, the ice concentration in the port’s waters is 8/10th and the solid ice surface is from 50 cm.
"As of this morning, 18 vessels were in the outer harbor of the Ilyichevsk port in anticipation of a directive. Operations to escort laden vessels out of the port’s waters have begun. Icebreaking tugs are freeing the waters of ice," the port authority’s acting deputy head of operations Viacheslav Hazun is quoted as saying.
The port has three icebreaking tugs: the Tigris, the Titan, and the Basalt.
The Ilyichevsk port is capable of handling more than 30 million tons of liquid bulk cargoes, dry bulk cargoes, and general cargoes per year. The port’s 29 berths are capable of receiving vessels with cargo capacities of up to 100,000 tons. The container transshipment capacity of the port is 1.15 million TEU. Since 2007, the port has been capable of simultaneously receiving three ocean-going container ships with a capacity of over 5,000 TEU and a length of up to 300 meters.
