Original story

Compumedia Trade Digest 31.12.2011

Finnish and Swedish maritime authorities satisfied with early results of ice-melting pumps

The new system designed to keep the Gulf of Bothnia (an arm of the Baltic between Sweden and Finland) free of ice has been in operation for four weeks. Although the recent unusually low temperatures recorded over the Christmas holiday have frozen the Gulf solid almost as far south as Vaasa, the fairway for shipping using the northern ports remains open. The low-revolution pumping system installed on the sea-bed appears to be a complete success, despite many early doubts over the project.

The maritime authorities of the two Scandinavian countries have installed roughly 50,000 slowly-revolving pumps under the main shipping lanes and in the ports leading to and from them on both sides of the Gulf. The action of the pumps lifts the bottom water - at a temperature of around +4oC - to the surface, and thereby prevents the surface from freezing over. The pumps can be powered by natural and renewable energy sources, since even a sluggish turnover of the water is sufficient to prevent ice formation.

The Swedish and Finnish maritime authorities have experimented with three natural sources of energy - wind power, solar power, and heat exchangers drawing energy from the natural temperature of the water. For example on the Finnish coast, solar collector farms have been erected to the south, windmills slightly further north, and at the very top of the Gulf, in the Kemi and Tornio area, power stations using thermal energy from the waters of the Baltic.

Usko Jaala, Director of the Finnish Board of Navigation, was in enthusiastic mood at a press conference held today in Oulu. Jaala noted that if the system continued to work as smoothly as in this first month, only one icebreaker would be required by the northern ports, serving traffic during extreme conditions or when drift ice temporarily blocked fairways. This will bring substantial budget savings that will pay off the entire cost of building the pump system in the space of just three years. After this it will be possible to lower tariffs to shipping on this route, which will naturally sharpen the competitive edge of ports in the Gulf of Bothnia.

Contrary to expectations, the EU has not provided financial backing for the venture. Russia blocked support by the European Commission by exercising its right of veto. Russian authorities fear that wintertime sea traffic into its own ports on the Kola Peninsula (e.g. Murmansk, which currently also provides access for shipments to and from Russian Karelia) will move to the easier and cheaper Bothnian ports, thus reducing income from harbour and cargo charges.

Hannula I. & Linturi R. 1998: 100 Phenomena. Yritysmikrot Oy, Helsinki 1998. Copyright notices ISBN 952-9508-18-2

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