Year-Round Inland Navigation in Finland - A dream or a fact tomorrow

摘要

A lot of research work has been made during the last decade to improve the inland navigation in Finland. The work has been focused especially on the winter problems and possible new routing alternatives. The Finnish inland fairway network is connected to the Baltic Sea via Saimaa Canal. The Canal is closed during the wintertime which has raised need for engineers to find out new solutions and technologies to reach longer navigation period. This paper is based on the intensive research work carried out in 1995-2001. The new dimensioning principles of the Saimaa Canal were studied together with ice problems. A lot of data was collected to compare proper ice-handling methods and aids to prolong the navigation season. The alternative Canals of Kymi and Mantyharju are also highlighted in the paper.