November 10th was a benchmark for Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping (GUMRF) and other partners within the Future Potential of Inland Waterways (INFUTURE) transborder cooperation project.
Thanks to the joint activities of the university and the Administratsiya Volgo-Balt organisation (FBU), the first buoy made by SeaHow by Arctia (Meritaito) Ltd. was installed in the Neva River water area near Schlusselburg.
The event took place as an independent practical experiment, part of the second working package “Inland navigation using advanced technologies and navigation equipment.” The experiment’s goal is to check the usability of the innovative buoys for the year-round operation in the Russian north-west.
The ice testing will be carried out in the Volga-Baltic water area. The installed buoy has an innovative structure that keeps it vertical under the pressure of the current. It also has a double anchor chain fixture. This should keep the buoy vertical despite of river current and ice. If one fixture breaks, then the other should keep the buoy in place. The buoy also has a regulated lamp with an adjustable visibility of two to five miles. More than 25 thousand similar buoys operate in Finland year-round and are not taken out of the water before freeze-up. This saves a substantial amount of resources and the effort of the companies in charge of navigation equipment operation.
Vladimir Karetnikov, head of the Inland Shipping Chair of Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping; Anatoly Burkov, a docent at the GUMRF Water Transport Management Chair and INFUTURE project manager; and Yevgeny Nabatov, Arctic SeaHow Meritatito Ltd. representative in Russia attended the buoy preparation and installation. The Nevsko-Ladozhkyi waterways area navigation department and the Volgo-Balt Administration Federal Budget Company’s installation team led by Sergey Rudykh, the head engineer, performed the installation work. The buoy was prepared and correctly installed according to instructions and took its operational position at the edge of the navigation pass.
Next week, another buoy will be installed in the Ladoga Lake water area. The experiment will continue until navigation begins next year.
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Vladimir Karetnikov
Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping
St. Petersburg, Russia
